Destiny Waves
by Forever-Rose09
Summary: When Naminé enrolls in the famous Destiny Waves Performing Arts school, she has no idea what to expect; white shirts, blue ties, checkered skirts. That is, until she bumps heads with a certain brunette. Join Naminé, Sora, Kairi, Riku and the gang in their adventures through the months! AU. Future pairings to be revealed.
1. September- part I

DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS!

Now then, enjoy! :3

* * *

Chapter one

September part I

Naminé Strife watched the world become a blur of passing colours as the scenery sped by in her father's car, clutching her sketchbook and bag close. She was still unhappy with her parents for enrolling her in a fancy school. She wasn't good with people and they knew that, but supposedly they thought it would be good for her to "open up to a variety of new people and ideas". And so here she was on the first day of school, going to a place where she would never belong. She was bitter with the whole idea. How were her parents stupid enough to think that she would ever change by going to a place like this? She was who she was, weren't her parents supposed to accept that?

* * *

The first thing Sora noticed was that the sun was in his eye. The second thing he noticed was that it was a school day.

His senses shot awake. Today was the first day of school! How could he forget? Shooting up and out of his messy bed, he threw open his closet and looked for his uniform with a groan. He'd forgotten to clean out his closet. His laptop, socks, food, junk, garbage, textbooks, everything was in there. He took just enough time to yell down the stairs.

"MOM!" He shouted, throwing an empty bag of chips behind his head. "It's the first day of school! How could you forget to wake me up?"

There was no reply. She was probably just drunk again. Finally he found his shirt and classic blue checkered tie, but what about his pants? Running a frustrated hair through his wild chocolate spikes, he threw his laptop charger behind him while digging around. Pulling out his pants, he chucked his pajamas off and changed just as fast. Not really bothering to fix his untamed hair, he found his backpack and ran downstairs. Sure enough, there was his lazy mother passed out on the couch in the middle of a million beer bottles and sighed. Streamers and cups were everywhere on the hardwood floors, and there were stains of what he hoped was only vomit.

His mother was a heavy alcoholic and partied all the time without knowing when to stop. Trying to forget about his father, he grabbed a slice of bread in his mouth, slipped on his shoes, and ran out of the house. He'd deal with the mess later. For right now, he had to make it to Destiny Waves performing arts school for his first day. A goofy grin stretched up onto his cheeks as he thought about it. He'd paid a lot and worked hard to get accepted into that school; it was one of the most expensively amazing schools in town. He still hadn't told anybody the job he'd taken up to pay for the fees though.

His backpack thumping against his back, he suddenly remembered that he was going the wrong way. If he didn't hurry he would be late! Looking over his shoulder, he saw the shortcut through the woods. It may not be safe, but at the moment he didn't care. He had to get to school and fast. Dashing through the overgrown grass, he pushed the branches and leaves out of the way as he tripped over roots. Which way was the school again? After rushing through the depths of the forest, he finally saw a road in the distance. Supposing that was something he could follow, he went ahead.

* * *

"So, are you excited for your first day?" Her father asked, attempting to break the ice.

"Yes." Naminé lied. She wasn't as interested in breaking the ice.

"You're going to meet a lot of people." He continued. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Do what better than what?" The blonde replied, staring out the window blankly. She didn't know the school would be this far away. They'd been driving for quite a while now, and she'd like to stop talking as soon as possible.

"If you're going to make some new friends, you have to socialize better than that." He lectured.

"Father, I'll be fine. There's nothing wrong with the way I talk." She said defiantly.

"I'm just saying that-"

He was cut off as Naminé heard his foot slam suddenly on the brake, making her body jerk forward and slump back against the seat. The next thing she knew her father was rolling down the window and yelling.

"Get out of the road!" He shouted angrily out the window.

Looking carefully, she saw a messy brown-haired boy with his tie on backwards and backpack nearly falling off. Twigs and leaves were caught in his collar and wild brown spikes, and he had a common deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. But what caught her eye were his eyes. A beautiful, perfect shade of blue unlike any she'd ever seen. An artistic spark flew off in her brain, and she knew what that meant.

His voice suddenly brought her out of her thoughts. "I-I'm sorry sir, I just got lost."

"Oh, a stray I see. Where are you headed?" As always, her father was too kind. Why couldn't they just drive away now? Where he was headed was no concern of theirs.

He scratched the back of his head nervously and picked a leaf out of his hair. "Um, Destiny Waves performing arts school."

No way. _This _clumsy brunette was going to the same school she was? What talent did he even have?

"What a coincidence!" He said overly enthusiastically as always. "My lovely daughter Naminé just happens to be going there as well! Why don't you hop in and I'll give you a lift there?"

The boy's eyes brightened right away. "R-really? Thank you so much!"

But Naminé was having trouble processing all this. First she's enrolled in Twilight Town's most expensive performing arts school, and then this boy shows up from the forest out of nowhere. Now they're letting him come into their car and drive him there _together_? This wasn't what she wanted! The only thing she'd wanted was to stay low, and this was anything but.

And did her dad just call her lovely?

"I didn't know we picked up hitchhikers." She muttered under her breath angrily and her father gave her a glare.

Just as the brown-haired boy opened up the door and slid in next to her, her father flashed her a look that said _be nice_. She just huffed quietly and looked out the window again. That boy was getting much closer to her than she was comfortable with. As their arms brushed, she flinched and turned away.

"Ah, sorry." He apologized hurriedly.

"It's fine." She said quietly, saying as little as possible. She had to admit that he was kind of cute, but there was no reason for her to get any closer to him. Naminé clutched her sketchbook a little tighter to her.

"Oh, you draw?" The boy asked, blue eyes shining with curiosity.

"Yeah." She nodded. Okay… now what?

"Can I see?" He asked.

She was a little surprised. Nobody had really been interested in her art before. "I, um…" She looked down at the cover of her precious sketchbook. A lot of her art from several years ago was still in there, and she'd improved a lot since then. Should she really let him see? Her parents did want her to open up to new people and things…

"Sorry." She said quietly, shaking her head. "They're not that great. You wouldn't like them." Wow, that was one of the longest sentences she'd ever said. And to a stranger, too.

"Aw, why not? Even my stick people just look like potatoes on skewers. I'm sure anything would be better than mine." He laughed.

She actually found something tugging at the corners of her lips despite the situation. "That's what stick people are."

"Yes, just because it's normal for circles to look like potatoes. Great logic."

She let out a giggle.

"What's your name again?" He asked.

Just then, her dad pulled up to the huge school, and she leaped right out of the car, relieved to end their conversation. "Goodbye, Father. I'll see you after school."

"Have a great first day!" He said overly happily as always. The boy followed right behind her though, even waited for her as her dad opened the trunk and she pulled out her violin case. She placed her sketchbook carefully in her bag and lifted up her violin in the other hand.

"Oh, I didn't know you played violin." He said.

"Now you do." She replied bluntly, seriously not wanting to say any more.

She began to walk off when suddenly he grabbed her wrist. This was starting to get annoying. Why was he always trying to pry?

"I still didn't catch your name, you know. I'm Sora."

She didn't look back. Instead she snapped her wrist away from his grip sharply.

"I don't have to tell you anything."

And with that, she made her way to the library. She needed some peace, away from nosy brunettes.

If there was one thing about the school she knew, it was that the halls were crazy. People in the white and blue checkered uniforms were everywhere, bouncing left and right and back and forth, lockers slamming and people's voices were scattered all over the place. It was too much for her ears to bear; she felt like she was trapped in a pinball machine. So many words, so much noise. She hadn't even been at the school for five minutes and she already knew she would hate it here.

Turning around the corner sharply looking for the library, she bonked heads with something hard and fell to the ground with a yelp. Her violin case only dragged her down, too. Rubbing her back with a groan, she looked up to see a hand extended to her. Taking it gratefully and pulling herself up, she saw a girl with shoulder-length red hair and beautiful purple-blue eyes. Her smile was genuine and pretty.

"I'm really sorry about that. Are you all right?" She asked with concern.

There was just something about her that she liked. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry too."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Things are always busy here on the first day, but it'll calm down soon. I'm Kairi."

The blonde nodded. "My name's… Naminé. Nice to meet you."

She giggled. "Nice to meet you too. Where were you headed? I know the school pretty well."

"Ah," she faltered. "I was going to go to the library."

Kairi tilted her head in thought. "Really? I'll take you there, but there's only about ten minutes before first class starts. You know where to go, right?"

Naminé felt like someone had dropped a boulder on her head. She really had no clue and scratched the back of her head. "Weeeellllll…"

She just laughed. "Here, follow me. We'll go to the library and then we can talk."

So she followed behind Kairi obediently like a puppy. Naminé was scared that if she let her out of her sight she'd end up falling over something or someone again. In other words, she was kind of like a little beacon of light in a place full of crazy stuck-up people in ties and skirts. When they climbed up a flight of stairs, her jaw dropped. The library was _huge_. Front to back stuffed with desks and computer and bookshelves. It looked pretty busy in there too. The blonde simply sighed. Maybe privacy didn't come easy here.

Pushing through a spinning door, Kairi led her to an empty table and sat down.

"Here, toss me your schedule." The redhead said.

Searching through her bag, she finally found the slip of paper and handed it to Kairi, who read over it and smiled.

"Wow, you and I have our first two classes together. Wanna go together?" She asked brightly. "I can introduce you to my friends too."

"U-uh…" The blonde was startled.

"Don't worry, they don't bite." She paused. "Well, Selphie might if you take her food. But Olette and Xion are real nice."

Naminé looked down at her checkered skirt and shook her head. "I'm not really good with people." She looked back up at Kairi, who was listening intently. "That's kind of why my parents enrolled me in this school. They wanted me to open up to new people and ideas. And because I'm good with art and playing the violin, they thought that this performing arts school would be my best chance." _Why am I talking so much? _She thought.

"They didn't ask you if you were okay with it?" Kairi sounded genuinely concerned.

She gave a shaky laugh. "Nope. But I guess it's not as bad now that I have somebody to show me the ropes."

"I'm really sorry, Naminé." Kairi shook her head sadly.

"No, it's fine, it's fine!" She suddenly got very flustered. "It isn't your fault. And…" She smiled shyly. "It's not as bad as I thought here."

Kairi giggled. "Aw, you're so sweet. You'll get along fine, but whatever she says; don't give anything that has sugar in it to Selphie." The two laughed.

The loud bell echoed through the halls and soon people were up and scrambling all over again. Kairi stood up right away and picked up her book bag. Naminé did the same.

"Oh, just follow me. We have Aqua for art first class, so let's go! I know you'll love her." Kairi told her.

"Aqua? Is that a nickname?"

"Oh no, she doesn't like being called Miss or anything, so she tells us to call her Aqua." She smirked. "It's a near-known fact that she and one of the other teachers, Terra, have a thing for each other. But come on, let's go."

So she followed Kairi until a question popped into her brain. "Hey, Kairi."

She turned to look at her over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Do you know a guy named Sora?"

A big smile stretched up onto her face. "Yeah, I do. We're childhood friends." The way that her cheeks turned a little pink got Naminé thinking.

"You like him, don't you?" She asked teasingly. How was she acting so natural around someone she barely knew when her whole goal was to stay low? Was she doing the right thing?

"Well, maybe a little. But he's completely oblivious." She laughed awkwardly. "Anyways, we're here."

When they stepped into the large classroom, Naminé could barely speak.

"Why is everything in this school so oversized?" She groaned, looking around. Paintings and creations of all kinds were plastered all over the walls, even deliberate splattered paint on the ceilings and empty spots on the walls although there weren't many. The desks were clean somehow and in neat rows, and the teacher's desk at the front had a globe, paintbrushes, pencils, fineliners, pens, all kinds of art utensils. On the very front of the desk was a blue good luck charm, in the shape of a star with a string hanging down. It was simple, but beautiful. Naminé picked it up and held it in her hand with much interest. Did Aqua make this?

"Oh, that's Aqua's favorite good luck charm." Kairi told her once she saw her looking over at it. "She takes it with her everywhere. It means everything to her, so just be careful with it."

Hearing that, she quickly placed it back down. They must've gotten there early, because right after a lot of kids flooded into the room, chattering and taking their seats.

"You wanna sit with me? You can come with me in the cafeteria later and I'll introduce you to my friends, if you'd like." Kairi asked with a friendly smile.

What was that weird feeling in Naminé's heart? It made her blush to be accepted like that. She nodded shyly and took a seat near the back next to Kairi, her… first friend. After, a tall blue-haired woman stepped into the room, and she was beautiful…

Her hair was short but neatly cut and her eyes seemed the exact same colour. She wore a simple white tank top and light denim shorts sported with a pair of blue sandals much like the pair Naminé wore to the beach last summer. She greeted the whole class with a smile.

"Hello, everyone." She said. Her voice was mellow and sweet. "I'm Aqua, your art teacher for this term. I just have a few rules." Aqua walked to her desk and picked up the good luck charm. "First rule: Please be careful with the school's art utensils, and mine too. Always ask before you decide to use something. Second rule: Call me Aqua. No miss, no nothing, just Aqua. I feel like if you call me miss, you address me as someone older, which is true, but I also feel like if you just call me Aqua, we're more open with each other." She put the charm back down and smiled again. "Got it?"

The whole class nodded and murmured their agreements.

"Third rule:" she continued on. "Be respectful. In all honesty if you don't like someone's work, don't shoot them down over it."

"Aw, you're _sure _we can't shoot them? That would be oodles fun for me, Aqua." A voice from the back of the class said, and all heads turned.

"I never asked for your opinion Seifer, so keep it to yourself, please. And I already told you to take off your hat." Aqua's eyes narrowed, and Naminé was taken aback. Her soft and mellow voice had completely melted away in a matter of seconds. She looked at Seifer. His short blonde hair was tucked under a black beanie, and his tie was undone sloppily with his feet on the desk. She turned back around when a tiny slip of paper pounced onto her desk. Folding it open, she saw neat, round writing on the inside.

Ignore Seifer. He's the 'bad boy' of this class, the kind that always gets in trouble. You'll get used to it; I had to be in his class every year in elementary. If there's one thing I've learned, steer clear from him. He'll always find a way to embarrass you somehow! –Kairi :)

With a smile, she pulled out her pencil and quickly scribbled a response back.

Right. Thanks for the advice. And I really feel sorry for you, having to be in his class every year. Maybe the universe hates you. – Naminé :)

Kairi read the message and frowned.

Okay, I know you're new and everything but that's MEAN! The universe has nothing but love for me. –Kairi :(

Naminé giggled and wrote back.

I was just joking. I'm sure you're the universe's favorite. We should probably stop writing now in case Aqua sees. I don't think she's very pretty when she's angry. Or never mind, maybe she is. I have no clue. *please proceed to rip up this message after reading* - Naminé

Tossing it to her, she read it over quickly and shredded it up just as Aqua proceeded to explain what they would do today after yanking Seifer's beanie off his head.

"I understand that you guys still probably have some cobwebs from summer vacation still on your brains." Aqua said. "School's in now so you have to start brushing them off, but I'll go easy on you guys. Draw anything you like today, sketching, and painting, anything but stick men. If I see a single stick man I'm failing you for the rest of the term." She laughed, although a few people in the room looked quite intimidated.

Soon everyone got to work, and Naminé already knew what she was going to draw. She started getting her pencils together when one rolled away on the floor. Scrambling after it, Seifer took the chance and stuck out his foot, tripping her. With a startled scream, she felt the cold hardwood floor roughly scrape against her knees and elbows, making a pained groan fall from her lips. Still on the floor, she could hear everyone laughing at her, but especially Seifer and his stupid laugh. Her whole body heated up in humiliation as she reached for the pencil, but instead a pale hand came down and picked it up for her.

Looking up in surprise, a slim, _very _attractive silver-haired boy was staring down at her, along with Aqua whose eyes were filled with worry. She took Aqua's hand and pulled herself up. What was with this day and falling? She forced herself to look at the silver-haired boy. His teal eyes were beautiful but sharp.

"This yours?" He said flatly, holding out the pencil.

"Um, yes. Thank you." Naminé quickly took it from him. She took a deep breath and took a risk. "I'm Naminé. Who are you?"

But he just turned his back to me. "You shouldn't care, and you're clumsy by the way."

She just flushed. "But I do care, and you didn't have to remind me."

"C'mon Riku, be nice." Kairi lectured.

The blonde turned her head to her friend. "What? You know him?"

"Yeah, this is Riku. He's my other childhood friend, and he has problems being nice." Kairi teased.

"Shut it," He snapped. "I don't have to be nice so people will like me."

Naminé tried to join in. "Right, so that means you're just so naturally nice that people love you."

"I don't see the point in it." He shot back angrily.

"You're sure he's your friend?" Naminé asked.

"Don't worry." She said, punching his arm playfully. "He acts all tough, but he's really just lonely deep down."

He punched her back. "Am not."

"Hey, if you see Sora and Tidus, tell them to come eat lunch with us today."

"Where?"

She just grinned. "On the rooftop." When he opened his mouth, Kairi overdramatically smushed a finger into his lips, making Naminé laugh. "Don't worry; I'll make sure it's legal. Bye!"

Kairi spun on her heel and went to yell at Seifer, and Naminé turned around to try to smile at Riku. Maybe this would work out.

"It's nice to meet you, Riku." She said as politely as she could.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." He said flatly. His tone was a bit sharp, but at the same time, that was what she sounded like not too long ago too. She didn't really have a place to talk about that.

"Hey, if you're a friend of Kairi's, that means you know Sora, right?" She asked.

This time Riku turned to face her, obviously a bit interested. "Yeah. Why?" His aqua eyes were starting to make her nervous. It was like he was trying to bore a hole in her face.

"Well…" she scratched the back of her head uneasily. "My dad was driving me to school today and he kind of popped up out of the woods beside the road. We nearly crashed into him. But we drove him the rest of the way." Was it really okay to be opening up like this? She wasn't acting like herself at all. "I was wondering if you knew what he was doing in the middle of the forest."

He turned around again so his back was facing her. "Sora lives far away from here. The woods serve as a shortcut."

She looked down, her blonde bangs hanging in her face. "Oh… then… why does he come to this school?"

Riku let out a sigh. "You have too many questions. Leave me alone."

Turning around, she came face to face with Aqua.

"Are you all right? That was quite a fall." Aqua said, voice filled with concern.

Naminé felt herself blushing. "No, I'm fine, Miss- I mean, Aqua."

"Sorry about Seifer. That boy won't ever change."

She giggled shyly. "Yeah, I think so too. I'm fine, so I can go start on my artwork."

As Kairi argued with Seifer, Naminé allowed herself to float away as she started her drawing carefully.

In the drama room, Sora sat on a stool prop with a highlighter in his mouth thoughtfully. In one hand he held the script for their most recent play while spinning a pencil in the other. Why had that girl done that?

*flashback*

"I don't need to tell you anything." She said harshly without looking at him.

Sora had dealt with Riku like this, but for some reason when she said it, it seemed a thousand times worse. She snapped her wrist away from his grip sharply, making him flinch.

"Wait, but I didn't even get your name!"

But she already left, her beautiful blonde hair flowing behind her. With a heavy sigh, Sora walked to his first class.

*end brief flashback*

"Soooorraaaaaaaaaa! Why won't you answer me?"

The brunette blinked to see Selphie standing in front of him, _much _closer than she needed to be.

"WHOA!" Sora fell backwards and off his stool. Rubbing his sore back with a groan, he looked up into Selphie's always-curious eyes. "Dang it Selphie…" He picked himself up and brushed off the dust. "I already told you to stop creeping up on me like that."

"I didn't even creep up on you," Selphie argued. "I just walked right up to you and you didn't even notice." She spun in a circle. "Now you tell me whose fault it is."

"Why do you always do that though?"

"Because," She said matter-of-fact. "You got that faraway look in your eyes like you always do when you're not focusing. And you need to practice your script!"

He ran a frustrated hand through his messy brown spikes. "Sorry. Things… happened today."

"Well, you should focus less on 'things' and more on your lines." She said. Suddenly her face softened. "But you're okay, right?"

Sora looked up and smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine, just don't kill me."

"Don't joke around about that! I could put you in a million painful positions in fifty seconds." But she was smiling anyways.

Selphie left after, leaving Sora alone half-reading over his lines. That girl with the blonde hair and blue eyes… who was she?

Tidus popped in and gave Sora a fist bump. "Hey, Sora, what's up? Selph told me you got that look in your eye, and that's never good."

He couldn't help but smile; Tidus was one of his best friends. "Nah, I'm fine. Just tired." He let out a sigh. "My mom threw another party last night and got drunk again. I've gotta help her clean up when I get home. And when I say help, I mean do it all myself." He covered his eyes with his hands with a groan. "It sucks, Tidus. It really does."

The blonde knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, man. If you want I'll help you clean up after school today."

He smiled weakly at his friend's words. "Thanks Tidus, but I don't think you'd want to see. Vomit stains, spills, streamers everywhere, other mysterious stains… I gotta take a lot to the dry cleaners this weekend too."

Tidus slapped his friend on the back heartily. "That's what friends are for. If I can deal with Selphie, I can deal with a little vomit."

Sora laughed. "All right, but only if you're sure." He lowered his voice darkly. "Because once you step in, there is no turning back."

They both laughed for a bit when a question popped up into Sora's mind.

"Hey, Tidus." The blonde turned to face him. "Have you seen a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes?"

Tidus scratched his head. "There are a lot of blonde girls with blue eyes that go to this school."

"Um…" Sora flicked the pencil around his fingers again. "Her hair is draped over one shoulder, and she has a violin case with her. Have you seen her?"

He shook his head. "A violin? Sorry, man. Can't say I have. But Riku told me second block that we're going to have lunch on the roof today."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "The roof? Why the roof?"

But Tidus just shrugged. "Not sure. Kairi's got some kind of idea."

* * *

Naminé followed Kairi through a lot of her classes, being very quiet whenever they weren't in a class together. Kairi found her after third block, and introduced her to Xion and Olette. Selphie was at a rehearsal over lunch.

Olette was a friendly brown-haired girl with distinct hair that stuck out at the sides. Xion's hair looked somewhat similar to Kairi's except it was a nice raven colour and shorter, and she was shy and polite; a bit like Naminé.

"Hey guys! Do you mind if Naminé here has lunch with us today?" Kairi asked cheerily.

"Sure!" Olette said brightly. "My name's Olette. I think I saw you in music class."

"I'm Xion." She said meekly. "Nice to meet you."

"C'mon, Xion!" Kairi laughed, slapping her on the back and making her squeak. "Brighten up a bit! Roxas will never notice you if you keep acting like that." At this, the raven-haired girl flushed.

Naminé giggled. "Glad to meet you both." Olette and Xion nodded with smiles on their faces.

"Ah yeah," Kairi said, grabbing her lunch bag out of her locker. "Tidus, Riku, Sora, and maybe Roxas are gonna be eating lunch with us today on the roof."

Xion's brow furrowed. "Why on the roof?"

Kairi heaved out an overdramatic sigh. "Jeez Xion, we're just going to have a little rooftop picnic, so relax, all right? Everything will be fine! The teachers won't find us, so don't worry."

The four girls all grabbed their lunches until something vague appeared in Naminé's mind.

Did she just say Sora was going to be there? Her mind started to panic. She couldn't see him again! Not after what she'd said! Who knew if he was even going to forgive her? She had been rude, and she wanted to apologize, but at the same time she didn't want to see him.

Climbing up several flights of stairs, the four reached a gray door. Pulling it open, a gust of fresh air wafted in, and Naminé took in a deep breath. It was so refreshing. The blue tiled roof was usually off-limits. Why were they here? Looking over the gray bars, Naminé took in the view. Over the schoolyard there were people everywhere but from where she was they looked like white and blue ants. The sky was perfectly clear and blue without a cloud in the sky.

Perfectly blue, like his eyes…

She frowned as she remembered that she owed Sora an apology. It was the right thing to do. With a slam the door closed, and Sora, Riku, and two blondes appeared behind them. One blonde had the same blue eyes as Sora, and his hair was done up in spikes. The other blonde's hair was simply done and hung down to about his neck. They all had their bags with them.

"Oh, you're all here!" Olette said with a big smile. "Kairi, they're here!"

The redhead was busy pulling out a picnic blanket from her bag and setting it on the floor.

"You brought a blanket?" Naminé asked in disbelief.

"Why would I not?" She responded. Naminé just laughed while the others started to settle down next to one another in a comfy circle. While the others were getting ready, Naminé sat down and kept working on her drawing when she saw a tall shadow loom over her. With an embarrassed squeak, she quickly slapped her sketchbook shut and turned around to see a curious Sora peeking over at her. The blonde stood up and blushed.

"I'm sorry about… this morning…" She hugged her sketchbook tighter to her stomach. "A lot of things happened."

Sora scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I know. I don't blame you, honestly. I'm sorry too for kind of popping up out of nowhere." Suddenly a wide smile stretched across his face. "But you still didn't tell me your name."

She smiled back. "I'm Naminé. Nice to meet you, Sora."

"Great! Now that we're all properly introduced, can I see what you're drawing?"

She blushed again. "N-no! I don't want you to see!"

"Aw, come on, _please_?" Sora begged. "I'll be nice!"

"Well… only if you promise not to tell anyone. I've been working _really_ hard on this one this morning."

"Promise! Now, what are you drawing?"

Opening up her sketchbook slowly, she turned it so it was facing Sora.

"You."

* * *

Soooooo? You wanna tell me how you think so far? Click the shiny review box! :)


	2. September- part II

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS! **

* * *

September part II

There in the middle of the page, sure enough there was a picture of Sora. It was a full-body picture of him standing in the middle of the road like it was that morning, but instead his back was turned, but his head was turned so it had a curious look to it. The picture itself was in black, greys and whites but the only thing other than that was his eyes, which were the exact shade of blue.

"Ehh? That's really me…" Sora gawked. "My eyes… how did you…?" Lifting up one of his hands, he touched his fingertips to the skin just under his eye.

Naminé smiled, thoroughly enjoying his reaction. "I remember them well." She closed the sketchbook. "Anyways, I'm hungry. Let's eat."

Sora's stomach growled loudly and he scratched the back of his head. "Haha, I have no objections about that." The blonde laughed softly and walked with Sora to the blanket, where everyone was waiting. The group happily chattered with talk of past years together and summer vacation, but Naminé simply stared at her uneaten apple and sandwich, head bowed down quietly. She honestly didn't have much to say at all.

For the first time that day, she'd taken the time to acknowledge just how much she had changed in one morning. Was it right for her to be doing this? Sitting, talking with people she hadn't known for more than ten minutes. Personally she was perfectly fine with hanging around Kairi since she didn't seem to mind, but she felt self-conscious. Just earlier that morning she had promised that she wouldn't get too close to anybody and try to stay low. She'd thought that having to drive Sora to their school was bad, but here she was totally ignoring her little self-pledge. Maybe her dad was right, that it was okay to go to a school like this, but she felt so out of character. What happened to her? Was it the people? Or was she not being herself? Could it be that she'd changed so people would like her? Wait, but what was her true self even like? Was this it?

"Naminé?" A hand waved in front of her face. "You there?"

Hurriedly she snapped out of her trance and looked up. "Huh? Oh, sorry." Kairi took her hand away with a warm smile.

"Aren't you going to say anything? I did just introduce you to all my friends." The redhead laughed.

She felt her cheeks warm up. "Sorry, I zoned out."

"No problem. Name's Tidus." Said boy poked a confident thumb into his chest with a big grin. There was something about him Naminé liked, so she smiled back.

"I'm Roxas. I think you were in my music class with Olette. You're really great at the violin!" The other blonde smiled too. Naminé had seen him; he played the guitar just as well as she could play the violin. She smiled her thanks.

"Riku," The silver-haired boy said. "But you already knew that. You were being a klutz in art class."

She felt herself blush deeper. "But you already knew that."

"Leave her alone, Riku," Kairi scolded, but she was smiling too. "She's endured enough of your abuse for today."

"And I'm Sora. We got off a little rough this morning." He scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "But you're really great at art."

"Yeah, it's so nice to meet you all." Something happy fluttered inside her chest. There were so many different people here, different from what she expected. "By the way, why are you all here? What's your talent?"

"I play guitar and act." Roxas replied.

"I act too." Tidus said cheerily.

"I'm a flute player." Olette nodded.

"I sing, and dance a little." Xion said quietly.

"I wanted really bad to be an actor, so here I am perfecting myself." Sora smiled widely.

"Play piano." Riku seemed to be saying little as possible, occasionally taking sips from his energy drink. Naminé had to admit she was a bit surprised. Someone like Riku, enrolling a performing arts school for his talent at piano…

"I sing, act, and play piano. I think of Riku as my fellow rival." Kairi laughed. Wow… she was here for all that? "What about you, Naminé?"

"I play piano and violin, and I'm in here mostly for art. I'm not good on stage." She tried to smile although she was nervous.

"Oh, so that's why you always have that violin case and sketchbook with you," Sora cocked his head.

"Yeah," She clutched her sketchbook a little tighter to her. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them." When nobody talked, she laughed awkwardly. "I sound pretty stupid, talking as if they're living things."

"No, it's cool." Tidus shook his head.

"That's what got you here." Xion said with a small smile.

"Of course they're important to you!" Olette nodded.

Riku stared into the distance nonchalantly. "Isn't it difficult having to juggle all that?"

"No," Naminé shook her head. "I don't find it all that difficult because it's what I love doing. And when you love doing something, it's worth it. It may be busy, but it is worth it." Her cheeks warmed again. What did she just say?

"Yeah, I get it." Kairi nodded her understanding. "I feel the same way. Sometimes it's not easy having to deal with acting, singing, and piano, but I have fun doing it, so it's fine for me."

Tidus laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Wow. Here I am with all the multi-talented people and I just act lines off a script."

Riku actually looked like something was tugging at the corners of his lips. "And I just smash keys on a piano with notes off a book."

"I broke my flute in half once." Olette chirped a little too happily.

Everyone laughed, even Riku smiled, and for the first time _ever _Naminé felt like she belonged. Their laughter fell silent after there was a loud thud from behind the door.

"Who's up here?" An angry, muffled voice demanded.

"_Shit!_" Roxas swore under his breath, but loud enough to be heard by the circle. Xion started to scramble hurriedly for her bag but Kairi grabbed her wrist tightly.

"What are you doing?" Xion hissed angrily.

"Be quiet!" Kairi put a finger to her lips. "If you make a big fuss and stomp around of course they're gonna hear you!"

"Then what do we do?" Olette whispered, biting her nails. The thumps were starting to get louder. Whoever it was, they were coming up the stairs, and fast. Roxas was already pale and hurriedly shoving his lunch back in the bag. Naminé quickly did the same, which didn't take long with only an apple and uneaten sandwich. But Riku looked perfectly calm, those teal eyes unwavering. Another artistic spark went off in her brain.

The silver-haired boy simply pointed next to the door. "Over there. If someone opens the door, they won't see us unless they walk out."

Kairi pushed everyone off the blanket and bundled it up, shoving it into her book bag. Everyone else tiptoed over next to the door, their short safe-spot. The thuds got even louder. Kairi told Tidus something before squishing in next to everyone else.

"You're stepping on my foot." Roxas whispered sharply.

"Sorry!" Kairi whispered back.

"We're a little cozy." Xion said.

"Just a tad." Olette groaned quietly. "Move over!"

How Naminé ended up squished between Sora and Riku, she had no idea, but whatever it was, she didn't like it. The second she felt her back against someone's chest, she turned to be face to face with a fairly irritated-looking Riku.

"I'm so sorry!" She whispered, starting to pull herself away. She could already feel her face going red.

"Just hush," Riku whispered back, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. Her back hit his chest again and their legs were touching awkwardly. "We have to stay close if we're not going to be seen."

Why was Riku getting all touchy? "R-right. Sorry." She could feel his heartbeat drumming through his chest to her back, and Sora's back was nearly pressing into her chest too. Awkward… Just then she noticed that Tidus wasn't with them.

"Where's Tidus?" She whispered fiercely, looking around.

"Shh," Riku hushed, tugging at her arm again. With a nearly silent squeak, the blonde stumbled even further into him, barely putting all her weight against him. "Kairi was just talking to him, so she probably has a plan." His breath was just hitting her ear and she felt herself shudder. Her knee bent, and a pained peep came from in front of her.

"Naminé, your knee is in my ribs." Sora whispered.

"Sorry!" She whispered back again. Then she heard a voice. Tidus?

"Principal Xemnas!" Tidus said cheerily. Tidus was an actor, wasn't he? Surely he could get through this. "How are you?"

"Cut the small talk, Tidus. What are you doing up here? You know the roof is restricted to all students." An unnaturally deep voice boomed.

"Sorry sir," Tidus kept chattering. "I know you won't believe this, but the wind blew and swept my papers up to the roof."

The blonde slapped her palm to her face.

Riku seemed to be intentionally leaning in now to make her embarrassed. "Hey, don't worry. He's an actor for a reason. Improv is important, right?"

She couldn't do anything but nod. Riku was too close for comfort. "Y-yeah." Looking over at Sora, he was crushed against Roxas and Olette, Xion awkwardly squished up nearly right against the door. Looking past Riku, there was the metal fencing. If he wasn't careful and fell backwards, he would fall all the way down.

"You're right Tidus, I don't believe you." Principal Xemnas said flatly.

"Right. Actually, a crow flew down and stole it from me. You know how crows are."

"Tidus, I'm not letting you leave until you tell me why you're here."

"Fine with me."

Naminé snickered quietly with Sora. Now all they had to do was wait until the Principal left, and then they could all leave. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Riku's arms wrap around her.

"What are you doing?" She whispered harshly, squirming slightly in his grip.

"You won't stop wiggling around." He replied.

"Why are you getting all cuddly all of a sudden?" She asked as gently as possible although she was resisting every urge to hit him.

"I figured this would shut you up for a little bit so don't go thinking that we're friends. I still think you're a klutz." The blonde let out a defeated sigh. Riku had that resistance-is-futile tone in his voice. To think that this tough silver-haired boy would do something like this…

"Tell me why exactly you are blocking me from the door. I opened it to find you standing right there. Isn't that peculiar, Tidus?"

"Not at all. I told you that I came to get my homework back."

"And where is this homework you lost? Why don't I come out there and help?"

Sora and Olette started squirming while Naminé looked up to Riku, pleading with her eyes. But his teal eyes seemed narrowed in thought themselves. Without a word, he pointed up to the air vent. Oh no. Where they going to have to go all secret agent style? She looked back up at him with a look of disbelief, which he seemed to read properly.

"Relax, we'll fit. This is the biggest air vent in the building." He whispered in her ear. Naminé felt herself blushing at his breath just hitting her ear, but snapped back to reality.

"Where does it lead?"

"Anywhere away from here and that's all that matters for right now."

"It's too high," She whispered back. "We'll never be able to reach it. And we don't have enough time."

"I'll boost you guys up. Surely you don't weight too much. And I'm sure that Tidus can buy us enough time."

"Oh my gosh Principal Xemnas! Haven't you heard? Aqua and Terra are nearly a couple! Maybe they just need that extra _'oomph' _to get it kick-started." Tidus chattered on. Naminé fought the urge to laugh by remembering that they had to get out of there. With a silent sigh she turned her head back to Riku, who hadn't let her go yet.

"Riku, give me a boost. I'm going to take off the cover and go first. I'll signal you when you can come in, but help the others first. Can you get up here on your own?" Naminé told him, and the silver-haired boy nodded. Lacing his fingers together, the blonde stepped up onto his hands as gingerly as she could, and he noticed how gentle she was being.

"Idiot, it's fine to put your weight on my hands."

"Oh." She said intelligently, doing so but only putting on some. Leaning against the cold wall, she reached up and struggled to get the vent cover off without making too much noise. She looked down at the silver-haired boy.

"Hey, does this thing come off?" She asked as quietly as possible.

"Yeah, but you have to pull it harder than that. The screws already should be a bit loose." Riku told her.

"Tidus, I'm not interested with the romantic affairs of any of our staff here at Destiny Waves. Now move out of the way."

"Maybe if you added a please and did a little dance." Tidus said cheekily.

Olette and Xion looked horrified, Sora just looked plain confused. Naminé knew she didn't have much time.

"What? I'm not going to amuse you by doing whatever you tell me to." Xemnas said.

"Then why do you expect me to do the same?" Tidus asked innocently.

Tugging harder this time, she yanked the cover off. It made a loud noise which Tidus covered up with an overdramatic fake sneeze. _Nice save, _she thought, and looked down at Riku.

"Oh, bless me!" Tidus said cheerily. "Allergies are starting to kick in, Principal."

"Lift me up a little higher." She whispered, and he obediently obeyed, stretching his sturdy arms up all the way. Reaching her hands up into the dark vent, she placed one foot on the wall and kicked up, doing the same with the other foot. When both her feet were sticking out of the vent, she quietly whistled the signal to Riku and proceeded to crawl forward.

"Because I am the Principal of this school, Tidus Murakami, and it's my job to guide students in the right direction. And it's your job to do as I say because I have authority over you."

"What if I don't think that you're guiding me in the right direction?"

"Then we can figure something else out."

_What am I doing, _Naminé thought to herself. _My original plan was to stay low and now I'm crawling in an air vent on the first day of school. What am I doing… __What __am I doing!?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when a hand latched onto her ankle. Turning around and opening her mouth to scream, she saw Sora's face instead.

"Hehe, sorry. Just thought I'd let you know I'm in now. Olette and Xion are up next. Oh, and Kairi too. Riku's last."

She nodded. "Yeah. I know." There was a short pause. "Do you know where this leads?"

The brunette shook his head. "No clue. But we gotta get out of here before lunch ends or we're in trouble."

She gave a short laugh. "Aren't we already?"

"Oof!" Xion's voice echoed from behind her. Looked like she was in too.

"Whee!" Olette was in too, a thud echoing from behind again. Did Riku throw her in or something? She wondered for a minute if he would be okay, but Riku was the tallest. Maybe even the strongest. She'd just have to see.

"Geez, that was rough." Kairi's voice came in too. Two more thuds echoed from the back. Riku and Roxas were in.

"Are we all here?" Naminé asked.

"Mm-hmm. Tidus should be fine; detention comes naturally for him." Kairi said.

"You already know." Sora laughed quietly.

"I'm here," Xion called.

"This is so cool!" Olette squeaked.

"Yup." Roxas said.

"Yeah." Riku said coolly.

So in the awkward line, they all started to crawl forwards to wherever the next vent opening was. It took her a while to realize that her butt was sticking up in the air a little too suggestively so the blonde tried her best to stay as flat as possible.

She shuddered. "Why is it so cold in here?"

"This must be one of the air conditioning vents." Olette said from the back.

"Great. So we're either going to be late, get found, or freeze to death if we don't make it out of here by the end of lunch." Naminé said flatly.

"Well on the bright side…" Sora tried.

Nobody said anything.

"Yeah, scratch that." The usually-cheery brunette concluded.

"How much time before the bell rings?" Xion asked.

There was a pause. Riku was probably checking his watch. "Five minutes."

"Hurry!" Roxas called and Naminé bit her lip and crawled faster. Crap. How long were these vents and where would they turn?

"How long do these go? We have to find an exit as soon as we can." Naminé asked.

"I have no idea. I've never been in here before." Kairi admitted.

"Not to point fingers or anything, but you do realize this is kind of your fault Kairi." Riku's voice echoed from the end of the line.

Naminé heard the redhead sigh. "I know. I was positive that nobody would come up here. All the staff was supposed to be at a meeting for the whole lunch period. I didn't think that Principal Xemnas would come up. I'm sorry, guys. I thought that a rooftop picnic on the first day of school would be great but all I did was get us stuck in an air vent."

"If the staff was supposed to be in a meeting that might mean that somebody saw us on the way up here." Roxas suggested.

Naminé frowned. "We should've been more careful."

"Who could have saw us? There are too many kids in this school for just one person to see where we were going, and if they did they probably wouldn't give two turnips." Olette asked.

There was a processing pause. She was right, in a way.

"It could have been Axel." Riku said. "He _is _one of the most popular guys in the school, a senior, and he and his cronies are always floating around and sticking their noses into everyone's business."

"How do you know all that? This is our first year." Naminé asked.

"He hasn't changed a bit. He went to the same school as we did." Riku explained.

Another processing pause.

"Seifer!" Kairi suddenly hissed. "That moron probably followed us and told Principal Xemnas."

"What's up with you and him?" The blonde asked her.

"I can't believe I dated a little snot like him." She spat bitterly. "He made me believe that he actually loved me, and he was as kind as he could possibly be. But later I learned that it was all a joke, a bet from all his stupid friends. If he could keep our fake relationship for a month, he would get paid for it." She seemed to force a laugh. "He lost that bet and now he hates me for finding out. But personally I don't mind what he thinks of me anymore."

"I'm sorry, Kairi." Naminé sincerely said. "But I thought you never liked him, not at all."

Another awkward laugh. "I didn't. It's just… it seemed like everyone in the world had someone to hold hands with. I wanted something like that. I wanted to be in a relationship so badly that I didn't care. I was an idiot."

"We've all been there." Xion comforted.

"Yeah. We all want to find that one person we fall in love with. But you just found the wrong person." Roxas added. Naminé had the feeling that Xion was blushing in irony.

"'Wrong person' is an understatement." Sora bluntly said. "We're talking about Seifer here. That's a whole different genre."

Everyone laughed softly and crawled until they reached a fork in the vents.

"Which way?" Naminé looked down both tunnels but they looked the same.

"Doesn't matter. The one that has a closer exit will do." Riku told her. So she turned left, and conveniently there was another vent opening in front of her. A stupid grin stretched up onto her face.

"Oh, finally!" She exclaimed. "Found it!"

"Really?" Sora asked. "Which room is it?"

She peeked through the bars. "The music room, and it looks empty. We better hurry." Shoving the vent door open, it fell to the ground with a metallic _clang_.

"Hurry up, I'm claustrophobic!" Olette cried, pushing at Xion's feet impatiently.

"Hey, don't push!" Xion scolded her. "Naminé, are you out yet?"

The blonde bit her lip. "I'm not sure how to get out without landing on my face."

"It doesn't matter! Get! Me! Out of here!" Olette shrieked, pushing at Xion's feet even harder and pounding on the walls, emitting deep echoes. With another rough shove, Xion slid forward and bumped into Sora who bumped into Naminé who bumped into nothing but empty space.

She forgot to scream as the falling sensation overtook her body. It lasted for about a second until she hit the ground hard on her back. Groaning in utter frustration, she was going to sit up until a streak of blue, white, and brown crushed her and knocked the wind out of her, flattening her to the ground again. Sora looked up at her with that same deer-in-the-headlights look, and then Xion fell on him, doubling the weight on her stomach. Then Olette, then Roxas, Kairi, and finally Riku.

"Everyone all right?" Riku sat up, making Kairi let out a pained squeak.

"Better if you all got off me." The poor blonde on the bottom of the crazed pile managed to wheeze out.

Hurriedly everyone scrambled off her and she rolled over onto her stomach with her arms out, one of them bent in front of her. A hand stretched down in front of her and she looked up to see a red-faced Sora sheepishly offering her some help.

"Sorry that I fell on you. Are you alright?"

Her blue eyes looked confused for a second and then realized that Sora was trying to help her. "Yeah, just a little sore." She took his hand and pulled herself up. "Thank you."

Riku checked his black watch again. "Less than two minutes left until the bell goes."

"Go, go, _go!_" Kairi cried, running with everyone out the door. As the redhead flung the door open, a man stood right in their path, and the group froze.

He was a tall young man, with blue eyes that were beautiful but sharp. One of the first things that Naminé noticed was that he was pretty muscular. The second thing that she noticed was how distinct that his hair was. His dark brown hair that hung to the base of his neck was styled uniquely into vertical spikes but somehow it didn't look strange to her. His bangs framed his face nicely too. A loose black tank top seemed like it had been messily thrown on, worn with a pair of black and white basketball shorts and orange sneakers. His skin was slightly tanned, and she felt her cheeks growing warm. She couldn't deny that he was just the slightest bit attractive.

The man crossed his arms. "Care to explain?"

Kairi's face was a bit flushed now too, which surprised the blonde a little. Kairi didn't seem like the type to get flustered. "Terra-senpai." This was Terra? The man that liked Aqua? But why was she calling him senpai? Wasn't he a teacher here?

"What are you doing here?" Olette asked. Xion had her head bowed down to the ground, hands clasped behind her back. Obviously she wasn't going to be saying anything anytime soon.

Terra looked up to the ceiling. "I heard weird thumps coming from the roof or something, so I decided to follow the sounds. And look at what I found here." He peeked his head into the door, seeing the open vent. At the sight he scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I should have known that it was you… always up to something. I don't know why I'm surprised."

"I'msorryTerra-senpaibutwehavetogo!" Sora burst out in one breath.

"Around now would be nice." Roxas added helpfully, rocking back and forth on his heels impatiently.

Terra sighed again. "I'll let you guys go this time, but after school you guys are coming to the music room and explaining _everything_. Now go."

Nodding their understandings, the ragtag group made mad dashes to their next classes.

At the end of the day Naminé couldn't stop worrying. What would Terra make them do? It was the first time she'd ever done something so crazy and gotten in trouble for it. How was she ever going to explain to her parents? She opened her locker and pulled her phone out. She was probably going to have to tell a little white lie, but it was for a good reason. She wasn't going to let her parents know she'd gotten into trouble on the very first day.

Unlocking her white smart phone, she made a call home to her dad. After a few rings he picked up.

"Yes, dear?"

"Hi, Father. Listen, um, today I met a bunch of people who were interested in hearing me play. So do you think I could stay behind a little later after school today?"

"Yes, of course. What time should I pick you up? Do you want me to?"

"Um, pick me up in about an hour from now."

"Okay. See you then."

"Thank you Father. Love you."

She tapped the End Call button, and suddenly Sora popped up, making her jump slightly.

"Nice lie." He said, smile unwavering.

Her cheeks started to warm up. "I had to. Anyways, why are you here?"

"To pick you up." Sora brushed some dirt off his pants. "Terra said to go get you; everyone's already in the music room waiting for you."

"Oh shoot! We'd better hurry then. Do you remember which way it is?" The blonde asked.

"Think so. Hurry, follow me."

The brunette took off and down the stairs, but there were too many people pushing and shoving their ways through and soon she couldn't see her little beacon of light.

"Sora, wait!" She called, but to no avail. He was already gone and she was already lost. She sighed and took her first step down the stairs but she tripped on somebody's shoe. With a distressed wail, she rolled down the stairs painfully, the wind knocked out of her _again. _Rudely people simply stepped around her, her legs curled up as she lay on her side to get her breath back. Her book bag was nearly slipping off her shoulder.

"Hurt yourself again?" A teasing voice asked her. Looking up weakly, Sora had come back. The blonde sat up weakly.

"Gee, thanks. I think I may have twisted something though." She put a hand to her ankle, hoisting her book bag back up onto her shoulder and winced. "It hurts a bit."

Sora knelt down and slipped a hand under her and the other on her back. Lifting effortlessly, soon she was in his arms, princess-style. Her cheeks flamed as people stared and giggled.

"Sora, what the hell are you doing? Put me down! I can walk!" She thrashed around in his arms but he didn't let go.

"Nope! This is great practice for me! A part of my next play involves lifting up a girl like this. You're surprisingly light, though, so it'll do. Just hang tight until we get there, would you?" He answered easily, a big smile on his face.

She let out a huge sigh. "You do realize I _can _walk. I don't need to be carried, and especially not like a princess."

"I already told you it's just practice."

"Then can't you just practice with that girl? I can make it there on my own!" She argued stubbornly as they started walking.

"Well, you're hurt and I totally forgot to practice with her, so might as well, right?"

"No, you can't." She retorted, cheeks getting hotter as she used one hand to pull her skirt down. "Put me down, Sora. _Now_. Or I'll kick you where it hurts."

He gulped. "You don't mean that."

She shot him a glare as they turned around a corner. "Oh, I do."

Sora waltzed right into the music room without a worry in the world. Everyone was already there and Naminé could've sworn she was blushing all the way up to her ears when their eyes fixed on her.

"We're here!" Sora announced.

"Can you put me down now?" The blonde snapped.

"Would you two stop goofing around?" Riku flatly said. "We're supposed to be working."

"Terra-senpai isn't here yet, so we don't even know what we're doing yet." Kairi pointed out.

Xion shifted back and forth on her heels. "I'm nervous! This is the first real time I've ever gotten in trouble!"

Roxas scratched the back of his head. "I wonder what we're in for. I don't think it gives us a good rep to have detention on the first day of school."

Sora finally put her down. "I wouldn't call it detention, more of like… blackmail, maybe?"

Naminé bent down and rubbed her sore ankle. "What do you mean?"

He held his chin in thought. "Like… do this for me or I'll tell the teachers you were crawling around in air vents and have you suspended for the next two-and-a-half-weeks. You know teachers tend to do that."

She looked around as Xion and Olette chattered away. Those two seemed close. "Isn't someone missing?"

The door swung open. Everyone looked. An ashamed-looking Tidus disdainfully stepped into the room. "I got caught."

"It was going to happen anyway, so what's so bad?" Riku shrugged.

"Don't be mean, Riku." Kairi scolded him. "But thanks, Tides. We wouldn't have made it out if it weren't for you."

He scratched the back of his blonde head and grinned. "No problem. It was a nice test." Naminé realized just then that Tidus was actually kind of cute with that smile on his face all the time. Quickly she brushed it aside.

Olette kicked the carpet. "Geez, when is Terra-senpai going to get here?"

Speak of the devil. He just happened to walk right in carrying a bucket full of paintbrushes and another bucket filled to the brim with light blue paint. Something in Naminé's stomach wasn't settling well at the sight. He placed several buckets of the stuff right in the middle of the room and left. No one spoke as he returned later with two ladders.

Terra crossed his arms. "Well? I'm waiting."

In ten minutes, everyone was up and painting the walls as they explained to Terra what they were doing. Naminé did like painting, but using the same colour and painting over a wall wasn't her idea of fun.

"…So we crawled up into the air conditioning vent and got away before Principal Xemnas could see." Kairi finished.

There was a pause in which all she could hear was the occasional squeak of the ladder steps and the brushes scuffing against the walls.

"Are we in trouble?" Xion asked worriedly.

"Well, technically you should be for breach of rules. Those air vents are off-limits. It could be dangerous if during class you disappeared in those and we wouldn't know where you are." Terra's tone was strict. "But…"

Riku looked over his shoulder from the ladder. "But what?"

"This time; only as a warning on the first day; I'll let you go. But I never want to hear thuds in the air vents ever again. Understood? Consider this your punishment."

"Thank you." Naminé said sheepishly, not sure what else to say.

"Awesome! Thanks a bunch!" Sora was the exact opposite.

"So, how's it going with Aqua?" Tidus grinned. The blonde giggled. What was up with that?

He turned around, but Naminé could've sworn his cheeks flushed. "Why do I keep hearing that? It's none of your business."

"Not even a hint?" Roxas teased.

"Get back to painting! You're lucky I'm not telling the principal about this." Terra snapped.

"You know what, Terra-senpai? You're not bad at all." Olette laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing~!"

It took a long, long time and by the time they were done their arms were sore and the sun was setting. The group walked down the hallway to the main doors and Naminé tried to process exactly how crazy this day had been. But… she sort of liked it. Maybe things wouldn't be that bad here.

She let out a short shriek when Sora's arm was flung around her neck playfully. "So, Naminé! You gonna hang out with us tomorrow?"

"Uh… um…" She was at a loss for words.

"Yeah! Come again tomorrow in front of the library, okay?" Kairi smiled.

"This was fun." Xion said.

"Sorry for shoving you." Olette smiled sheepishly.

"We'll be waiting." Roxas laughed.

"So you better not forget!" Tidus grinned.

"Whatever." Riku looked out the windows.

For some reason she was tearing up, but blinked them back. Could it be?

She had friends now.

At that moment, Naminé heard her car horn honk from outside and perked up at the sound. "Oh! That's my dad! I better get going. Thank you all, really." She picked up the pace to a slow jog, her book bag thumping against her legs.

Riku waved back at the group casually. "Me too. See you tomorrow." And with that, he started running so he caught up to Naminé. He slowed down for a second and whispered something in her ear, just loud enough so she could hear and disappeared down the hall right after.

"Nice panties."

No way.

He wasn't talking about…

The white and blue polka-dotted ones with the light blue bow on the front?

The very pair she happened to be wearing today?

Her face flamed and blushed all the way up to her ears. He must have seen when he lifted her up earlier.

"_RIKU!" _She screamed, running as it echoed down the halls. _"YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU PERVERT! RIKU!"_

Just around the corner, she heard a laugh she never thought she'd hear.

* * *

Aw, how sweet. Wanna tell me how you thought of this? R&R for more months ahead! c:


	3. October- part I

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS!**

****Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the new chapter :)

* * *

October

It was raining that day. Naminé described it as the windows crying. She wasn't sure what was going on. Her mom and dad were waiting for her outside the school and hugged her, soaking in her blue rain jacket. Everyone was sobbing and hugging each other. Even through the big puffy jackets, she felt her mom and dad's warmth. All she could remember was the school ablaze, and the next second half of it was in ashes and parents were outside on school grounds. It was all a blur of colours and big atmosphere was noisy and gloomy at the same time.

"Mama?" The little girl's voice was soft, unsure.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so glad you're alright…" Her crying mother replied, putting a gloved hand on the back of her head. Naminé wanted to do the same but she didn't want her mittens to get her mom's head wet.

"Let's go home." Her father took one of her hands while mother took the other.

They walked to their car through the fog hand in hand.

* * *

The alarm bleeped, and Naminé woke with a start, bouncing up from her bed. That dream again... She wasn't even sure why she remembered it. With a sigh she slammed the big button and the clock fell silent as the early morning daylight shone in through the partly-see through lace curtains.

She looked at her big closet to see her neat and cleaned school uniform hanging at the very front and smiled. Just looking at it brought back memories of the first day of school. She'd met Kairi, Sora, Riku, Xion, Tidus, Olette, Roxas, and Selphie. And to top it all off they had a rooftop picnic, crawled through an air vent, and painted the music room blue for an hour. A month had passed since then, and Halloween was quickly approaching.

"What should I be?" She wondered drowsily and got dressed. Sitting back down on her cushy bed to pull up her dark blue knee socks, Naminé noticed the picture frame on her bedside table. It was a picture of her family when she was young. She didn't like the picture too much since she was in the middle of a yawn, but she was tagging onto her mom and dad's hands much like the dream.

She turned it away.

* * *

That day, Naminé greeted her friends in front of the library as usual. "Good morning!"

"Hey, Naminé! Ooh, that rhymed." Kairi was kind and energetic as always. With the polite smile and red hair, what's not to like?

"Morning, Nami!" Sora grinned. Wild brown hair, big blue eyes. He was annoying sometimes, but there was something about him that she liked. He was always happy and full of energy. Supposedly from Tidus he was having some problems at home, but was still positive. Sora liked to call her Nami since Naminé seemed like a mouthful to him. Honestly she didn't mind.

"You're late." Riku said, shooting her a sideways glance. Cool and collected, there was barely anything that could shake up Riku with his shoulder-length silver hair and cast-like band on the arm that didn't have that black watch on it. Naminé wouldn't ever say it, but she found him quite attractive. Just thinking about it made her cheeks warm. She was always embarrassed and nervous whenever Riku was there. But she felt like he wasn't a bad guy deep down.

She laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry. I woke up late."

"High five!" Selphie squealed. Olette gave her one too.

Roxas and Xion didn't say anything; they were talking around the corner. When Naminé peeked, she could see that Xion's cheeks were slightly flushed. She couldn't suppress the smile. Xion had the biggest crush on Roxas since they were kids. According to Kairi they went to the same preschool years ago and became friends after Roxas saw her with a band-aid on her knee. Just thinking about it made her happy, imagining little Roxas and Xion playing together as kids.

She turned back to her friends, who were already chattering away.

"Halloween is next week," Kairi said excitedly. "I can't wait!"

"We should _totally _go trick-or-treating." Selphie's eyes were sparkling.

"Are you kidding? We're too old for that now." Riku said flatly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"That's the spirit." Naminé joked.

"Oh, even better!" Sora snapped his fingers. "Did you hear? Tomaguchi square is going to be transformed into a real-life Halloween Town-style square. There's going to be a haunted house and everything. We should go!"

"Aren't there going to be a bunch of little kids?" Olette asked. "That would kind of ruin the mood."

"Man… it probably won't even be that scary." Tidus scratched the back of his head. Naminé wasn't one for horror. She shifted on her feet.

"Exactly! That's why they have a kiddy version on the other side of it." Sora countered with a triumphant grin. "The one that we're going to is for adults and teenagers only."

Naminé smiled weakly. "The one we're going to? You decided that quickly for all of us?"

"Can't say I'm surprised." Riku smiled too at his best friend.

Selphie clapped her hands together. "Great! Then let's meet at 6:30 in front of Tomaguchi Square on Halloween night. It'll be awesome!"

"But I-" The blonde protested.

"We have to talk about what we're going to dress up as first for the big night!" Kairi exclaimed, looking like she was going to burst.

"I don't know about this-"

"Anyone got an idea?" Tidus wondered.

Kairi gasped so loudly Naminé thought she would faint from loss of oxygen. "I GOT IT! We should dress up as Alice in Wonderland characters!"

"Who's gonna be Alice?" Olette squealed.

All eyes went on Naminé.

"W-What?" She asked nervously.

"You're blonde! You've got blue eyes! You're going to be our Alice!" Selphie declared by pointing a finger in her face.

"Come on Selph," Tidus chided her. "Let her decide."

"Never mind that." Naminé smiled. "I'll be your Alice. I'll look for a costume this week."

"Hey, Riku!" Sora playfully punched his friend on the arm. "Why don't we be Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?"

"Like I said before, aren't we a bit too old for this?" Riku sighed.

"This can be the last year," Sora begged. "Come on, Riku. Have a little cheer! You won't wanna be the only one without a costume while we're all there! Please?"

The silver-haired boy face-palmed and heaved out a huge sigh. "Alright, alright. Fine. I'll be Tweedle Dee."

"Why you?"

"Because you deserve the title of Tweedle Dum more than I do."

They all laughed while Sora gave him an unamused look.

"Burn!" Selphie snapped her fingers in Z formation.

"I'll be the Queen of Hearts!" Kairi nodded. "I've had my eye on that costume for ages!"

Roxas and Xion were back now, all filled in. Roxas scratched his dirty blonde spikes. "I wonder what I should be."

"Hey, you have your grandfather's old pocket watch somewhere, right?" Sora said.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I'd have to look in the attic."

"Then you can be the White Rabbit!"

He smiled. "That doesn't sound so bad. Sure. I'll be your White Rabbit."

"I call being the Mad Hatter!" Selphie blurted out and stuck up her hand.

"Oh, I've got it!" Tidus smacked his fist into his palm at the idea. "I can be the Cheshire Cat!"

"I'll be a teacup!" Olette added.

"Then…" Xion held her chin in thought.

"Xion, why don't you be… a sugar cube or something?" Roxas suggested.

"What? Why?" She giggled.

"Because if Olette is going to be a teacup, she's gotta have some sugar with her! Didn't you see the Mad Hatter's tea party?" He teasingly scolded her. "Shame!"

"Ah… um…" She took it a little too seriously.

"Oh Xion, you know I didn't mean it." He laughed.

Xion clasped her hands behind her back. "Well… alright. I don't know if they have any sugar cube costumes though."

Kairi gave her a hearty slap on the back, emitting a pained squeak from their raven-haired friend. "Oh, don't worry about it! I'm sure you'll find something! Here, I'll write you guys some addresses for all the best costume stores in town." She started ripping out some paper from her notebook and pulled out her pink and red mechanical pencil with the heart chain on top. Naminé's was blue with a bunny chain on top. Soon everyone had a slip of paper with different names and addresses of costume stores on them.

"How do you know all these places?" Naminé wondered.

Kairi winked. "I've done my research."

The bell rang, and people started scrambling all over the place.

"Naminé, Riku, come on! We've got art!" Kairi grabbed their wrists and dragged them down the hall. "We can't be late! We have to tease Aqua about Terra some more!"

Naminé giggled. Aqua and Terra's love life was a hot topic in this school. It was a solid fact that Aqua and Terra had a thing for each other. They were close; supposedly they knew each other before they started teaching. But those two would never say anything about how they felt. It was frustrating! Their cheeks would always go red whenever someone brought it up. It honestly made her laugh.

When the second bell rang and everyone was in their seats, Naminé pulled out her sketchbook and opened it up. She'd drawn several more pictures, but the picture of Sora was still there. That brought back memories too. She and her father had nearly run him over when he suddenly popped out from the forest beside the road. What caught her attention were his sky-blue eyes, which had inspired her to draw that picture. Oh… She'd forgotten to hang it up in her room.

"Good morning everyone." Aqua smiled at her class. She was so pretty. "How are you?"

Voices chimed from all over the room in response to the typical question. Naminé never did have a great sense of hearing and even worse sense of direction, but she could hear the usual answers.

"Tired."

"Sleepy."

"Awesome!"

"Good."

"For today's class we'll be experimenting with charcoal." She explained, but honestly Naminé wasn't listening too well as her blue-haired teacher's voice droned out of her ear. She was too excited for the night.

The blonde and her group of friends walked home together as always, but Naminé went her separate way earlier than everyone else to take the bus home. She was too embarrassed to admit how big that her house was and didn't really want anyone to see.

Her family was wealthy; Naminé's father, Julian Strife, owned the famous SilverCord Records downtown, one of the country's most successful record companies. Their house was one of the biggest mansions in town, and had a whole dining room and several guest rooms all for meetings. Several steps in front of the door stood the grand ebony piano her mother played. Some days she would sit on that stool for hours, gently pressing at the smooth keys and sifting through all the sheet music from past years and hearing it in her head. It was just never the same, playing on any other piano. This piano was special. It made a distinct sound, one that Naminé's ears had grown used to hearing over and over again. Whether the notes were soft and gentle or intense and strong, she loved everything about it. Sometimes she could just play a short, sweet song and see her mother there on the stool next to her, smiling.

When she got home, the room was dimly lit and her dad's car wasn't in the driveway. Opening the door to the kitchen, she found a note on the kitchen table.

_Naminé,_

_I'll be out at a meeting until 8. If you get hungry, spaghetti is in the fridge. I know you remember how long to microwave it. Do your homework and practice while I'm gone. Don't forget your chores either._

_Love,_

_Father_

"You try too hard." Naminé sighed and looked out the window. The curtains flapped in the breeze. Her father had a bad habit of leaving windows open. The only sound in the room was the grandfather clock ticking away. She looked over at the grand ebony piano, clean and dusted, flawless as always.

"Alone again."

* * *

On that chilly Halloween night, Kairi took the small heart-shaped tattoo sheet off her cheek below her right eye. It came off, leaving the hot-pink mark there.

She grinned at her reflection in the mirror and smoothed out the red dress. "Perfect."

* * *

Sora was over at Riku's house since he didn't really want him seeing his mom in her drunken, grumpy state.

"Man… I hate this stupid suit! I feel like a monkey!" Sora kept pacing around his room in the striped shirt and suspenders he had to wear for the rest of the night as Tweedle Dum.

"_Whose _idea was it to be Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum again?" Riku flatly said in the matching outfit. Even though it didn't show by expression, Sora could tell his silver-haired friend was not amused. The brunette pulled up the striped knee socks that went with the costume.

"Okay, it was my idea." He admitted. "But look on the bright side."

"You say that too much."

"Haven't you always wanted to wear suspenders?!" Sora snapped the suspenders with his hands. "I mean… look at all the old people wearing them! I don't ever see them do this! How stupid is that? They're so awesome!"

"Sora?"

"What?"

"Stop."

"But it's kinda fun, you have to admit!" He then proceeded to hop around the room snapping his suspenders. Riku wondered just how immature he could be; if there was even a limit to it.

The taller teen slapped his hand to his face and sighed. "Perfect."

* * *

Naminé was standing in front of her bathroom mirror, tugging at the big black ribbon on her head. Slipping on the black mary-janes and smoothing out the white and blue dress, she took a deep breath even though she thought she looked ridiculous. Well… it couldn't be much worse. It was Halloween. Who knew how crazy her friends would look?

"Naminé!" She heard her father's voice all the way at the bottom floor up to the third floor where she was. "Let's go! You're going to be late!"

The blue dress was embarrassingly poofy. She attempted to pat it down one last time but gave in. "Coming!" She yelled back down. Since their home was so big and only two people lived in it, yelling to different places of the house takes quite the lot of effort. It was already dark outside by the time she got to the car and shivered in the evening chill. Hurriedly she slipped into the backseat and slammed the door.

"Why aren't you wearing your coat? It's cold out." Her father said as he started up the engine.

The blonde girl rubbed her arms. "I'll be in a haunted house, remember? I'll only be outside for a couple minutes. Plus I don't have anywhere to put it. You know how much I hate getting sweaty."

Julian gave a low chuckle. "Yeah. I remember."

They drove for a while. Once again the world outside became a blur of passing colours. Naminé looked up as the brief flashes of gold from the street lights streaked by. She rested her head against the window.

"You look a lot like your mother." Her father suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"What? Where did that come from?" Her breath fogged up the glass lightly.

"Nowhere in particular." He dismissively said. "You know that she's the one who named you, right?"

Naminé had no idea how to respond.

"I know you've been thinking about her."

"I know that you know. When will she come back?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, Naminé."

More silence. It was always like this between her and her father.

"Tomaguchi Square, was it?"

"Yeah." She nodded, hearing the chatter and Halloween music in the air.

"We're here." They pulled up next to the event. "Be safe, alright? Call me when I can pick you up."

"Yeah. Goodbye, Father." She slammed the door and ran in the uncomfortable mary-janes to her group of friends.

"Late again?" Riku said by way of greeting. The blonde couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous matching costumes he and Sora were wearing. They wore black and white striped shirts, bright red suspenders, black pants that looked a tad too tight, knee socks, and dress shoes. On their cheeks, below an opposite eye was a small black tattoo of an ace.

"You two look awesome!" She burst out in a fit of giggles.

"Oh why thank you." Sora snapped his suspenders, triggering more laughs from the dressed up Alice.

"I'm not wearing this because I want to!" Riku snapped with a straight face. "Why am I even doing this?"

She turned to Kairi, and her breath was taken away. Her hair was done up in an updo, complete with a heart headband decorated with several stars on the side. Dangling heart earrings adorned her ears. Around her neck was a frilled collar and small pink pendant. The hot-pink dress had short puffed sleeves, and just below her chest were three golden heart-shaped buttons. The skirt was striped maroon and the same hot pink, frilled with white at the bottom. The dress ended at her ankles, and the outfit was complete with a heart-shaped tattoo under her eye and a pair of red heels.

"Kairi! You look amazing!" She gawked.

"Oh, really?" said red-haired girl smiled at her. "Thanks. You look so cute!"

Naminé smiled back and glanced over at Tidus and Selphie. Tidus wore a brown suit with a white shirt underneath, but it had a big frilled collar where a Cheshire-cat purple ribbon hung. Matching ears and tail finished it off, also with a pair of mismatching purple socks; one striped, one plain. A giant pair of purple cat paw gloves was on his hands. Huh. He really did dress up as the Cheshire Cat.

Selphie practically copied the whole Mad Hatter's outfit. The whimsical wrapped hat she had, dirty-looking brown jacket, camouflage shirt under that, and the spotted and messy-looking tie. The only difference was that instead of striped dress pants she wore a black skirt that ended just above her knees and the brown dress shoes.

There wasn't much to say about Olette. She looked exactly the same, except that a giant white and blue teacup costume covered her from neck to ankles. Naminé tried not to laugh. "Isn't that uncomfortable, Olette?"

The lovable female brunette shook her head. "It's surprisingly comfy. It's soft, you see? I couldn't fit in my car, though. I had to walk, but I don't live that far."

Xion had her hands behind her back. A light blue teacup hat was tilted on her head. She wore a white speckled dress and white knee-high lace up boots. Elegant pearl earrings were worn, and upon further inspection, around her neck was a piece of yellow ribbon with a small sugar cube stuck on the front. She looked adorable. Roxas better wake up soon!

As for the dirty blonde, he wore a blue suit with a classic red bow tie and black gloves. At his side in a belt really was a golden pocket watch. On his head was a pair of bunny ears. "YOU'RE LATE!" He screamed at Naminé, making her laugh again.

Riku had the faintest ghost of a smile across his lips. "I already said that, idiot."

A small piece of a pink ribbon fell in front of Selphie's face. "Awwww, come on! I spent so much time making this and it's already falling apart?"

Naminé was surprised. "Really? You made that?"

Selphie grinned triumphantly. "Yup! Only the hat, though. I'm pretty crafty." She elbowed Tidus, making him jump and rub his arm with a giant purple paw. "Wouldn't you say so, Tides?"

"Yeah, sure!" He said overly cheerfully. "You can stop elbowing me now."

"So, are you guys ready?" Kairi asked. "We should hurry and get in line before too many people pile up."

Sora pumped his fist into the air. "Heck yeah! Let's do this!"

As they got into the bustling line, Riku spoke up. "How many people do they take in at a time?"

"I think it goes by groups. I can't wait!" Kairi brushed some dirt off her dress.

They talked in the chill until the groups finally withered down to theirs.

"How many people? One group at a time." Said a man in a mummy costume.

Kairi held up all of her fingers. "Ten."

"Big group." The mummy man sighed and opened up the curtain to the huge house that looked like it was falling apart. "Go on in."

The wooden floorboards creaked. There were no overly-used ghost or witch cackles or anything like that. Instead, there was nothing at all and that freaked Naminé out more. Occasionally a door closed somewhere in the darkness and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Candles dimly lit the halls; the only source of light.

Sora scratched his head. "This isn't even scary."

"Did you see how big this place is?" Naminé tried not to shiver. "We've only just entered!"

"Oh, relax, what could be that bad? You're just a big worrywart."

Somewhere in the distance, there was a sharp pull, and the whirring of a chainsaw roared through the eerily empty halls.

It started getting closer.

* * *

Oooooh! What could happen?

I think I'm gonna have fun writing the last part of this. Feel free to tell me what you think and R&R! C:


	4. October part II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts! **

* * *

October part II

Something in Naminé's stomach sank and turned cold. Perhaps it was an anvil; she didn't have trouble believing it.

"You were saying?" Olette squeaked.

"It's probably just sound effects." Riku coolly said. "Let's keep going."

Kairi looked over her shoulder. "You're one of my best friends Riku, don't get me wrong. But I still don't understand how you can be so calm in situations like these."

The roars kept getting louder. Roxas started to look worried. "You're _sure _these are just sound effects?"

"They sound awfully… I don't know, _real_." Tidus said. Selphie said nothing but knit her eyebrows together into a troubled frown.

Xion looked like she was ready to curl up into a ball and roll all the way home. "Is there an emergency exit or anything? A fire escape would be fine too."

"We're getting through this. Come on, one foot front of the other." Sora instructed. The group seemed to do so stiffly, but picked up the pace. After a while Naminé rubbed her arm. "Ugh, I've got goosebumps."

A crazed laugh rang through the halls at that moment, causing everybody to jump and turn around. But nothing was there; only shadows and the dim candlelight.

"You _sure _we shouldn't run?" Selphie backed up a step.

"Positive! This is so cliché!" Sora persisted.

"_ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?" _A distorted voice mumbled loudly from the end of the hall. The sound of the chainsaw really was getting closer now, and it only got faster.

_What a horrible way to die. _Naminé thought.

"RUN!" Sora shouted, bolting down the hall. The rest of the group followed while Xion and Olette screamed.

"We would have done that if you didn't tell us to!" Kairi said irritably. "Stupid heels!" She bent down and flung them off quickly, thumping against the floor.

"NO SHIT!" Tidus yelled back.

"What am I doing with my life?!" The poor blonde wailed.

The evil laugh resounded through the house, the sound of the chainsaw growing ever louder in their ears. Naminé didn't realize she was sweating. Suddenly a fork in the hallway appeared before them in the candlelight. Her mind was spinning.

"Left!" Riku shouted.

"Right!" Sora yelled.

"_What?" _Xion shrieked.

Honestly Naminé couldn't say anything because her brain was still trying to recover from the shock. She saw a streak of brown and she followed it, but it took her a while to realize that the group had now split in two. Immediately she felt whatever feeling of safety she had left drain away.

The world was a blur of colours. How much longer? Her legs were starting to burn now along with her throat. The whirring of the chainsaw seemed to have died down some. Slowly the rest of the group came to a stop and doubled over, panting. Naminé's ears were ringing as she looked up to identify who was left.

Tidus was sprawled out on the scratched up wooden floor. "S-Selph… Why… did you… trip me?" He breathlessly demanded.

Said brunette's hands were pressed tightly on her knees. "S-sorry, Tides."

The only people who had gone down the same hallway were Sora, Naminé, Tidus, Selphie, and Olette. Naminé felt her blood going cold.

"Where is everyone?" Her mind was in such a state of utter shock she didn't know what she was saying.

The answer was obvious. "We got separated from them." Olette had to try a couple times before she could get the sentence out straight.

Sora had already caught his breath. The angry Tweedle Dum punted the floor in frustration. "Stupid Riku! I say right and he goes left! Why can't he ever agree on _anything _I say?" He whined.

Naminé looked down the hallway, which seemed to never end. "We've got to find everyone and get out of here. I'm gonna lose my sanity if we stay here for too long."

"Oh, are you sure?" Selphie asked, voice dripping with bitter sarcasm. "I wanted to stay here forever. How much does it cost?"

Tidus elbowed her. "Selph! Not the time!" The stubborn girl crossed her arms, clearly miffed. Even though she didn't mean it, the words stung.

"Could we maybe go back from where we came?" Olette suggested even though she was trembling in the ridiculous teacup costume.

"We've turned at least four corners. We'd never find them, or at least not now. They're probably looking for us anyway." Tidus held his chin in thought.

Sora resorted to a different tactic.

"_KAIRI!" _He screamed, voice echoing through the house loudly. _"RIKU! ROXAS! XION!"_

Selphie slapped her hand over his mouth, abruptly cutting off any sound he was planning on making. "Stupid! Don't make so much noise! Do you want Mr. Chainsaw to pay us another visit?" Quickly he settled down.

The air was musty and smelled foul somehow, the slightest bit humid. "I really, really don't want to be in here much longer." Naminé rubbed her arms again, feeling herself start to break out in a cold sweat.

Sora scratched the back of his head. "We can't just stand around here. We've got to look for them. So come on!"

For a long while, there was no sound except for their footsteps thumping throughout the empty halls. Sora led the way bravely, stance almost as brave and proud as that of a lion. Tidus and Selphie naturally stayed close to each other, and Olette seemed to be sticking to Naminé tightly, never letting go of her arm. Even in the costume, she reminded Naminé of a puppy. Innocent, kind, but cowardly.

The two girls shrieked when the muffled sound of the chainsaw reappeared again.

"You're kidding." Tidus sighed.

"There!" Selphie pointed down a different hall. "I can see something in the distance. Hurry!"

The broken-up group sprinted in that direction, occasionally tripping over nicks and nails in the rough wood. The hall opened up to be a room full of coffins, large, black, and all closed. They almost met to Naminé's waist. The sounds of the chainsaw seemed to be getting louder and louder for the second time.

"Coffins?" Olette echoed her thoughts.

Sora whipped his head towards the sound of the crazed laugh yet again. "We gotta hide!" He started lifting the cover off one of them, and thankfully it was empty. The brunette hopped inside and lay completely flat. "Well? Come on!"

As fussy as she sounded, Naminé wasn't too fond of the idea of jumping in a coffin. Because, well, it was a haunted house, right? Obviously there was going to be something freaky like dripping blood or even worse- spiders. She had horrible arachnophobia. Even the tiniest house spider could make her shriek and curl up in a corner. If there was even a _chance _of a spider being in there she would rather have her head sliced off by a chainsaw. Her knees started shaking. No way.

She woke up hearing Sora's voice. "Nami, what are you doing? You gotta hurry and hide!" His one arm was propping up the heavy lid, lifting it up as if he were to put it down any second now.

"T-There's no s-spiders in there, right?" She managed to ask over the noise of the chainsaw.

"Not that I can see. Now, hurry up!"

The blonde found herself unable to move at the possibility of something being in there. She simply shook in front of the coffin that Sora was in.

He sighed and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the coffin with him and quickly using one arm to slide the lid over their heads, covering the small space in darkness.

Naminé attempted to process what was happening. She was crushed on top of him, moving slightly from his heaving chest. His heartbeat was loud and strong against hers, and a hand rested on her head, awkwardly unsure of what to do with it.

Her cheeks burned. "_Sora!_ What are you _doing_?" She hissed angrily, knowing she couldn't make too much noise.

The brunette was unaffected by her reaction. "What else was I supposed to do? You wouldn't get in!" He whispered back, turning his head away and pressing his ear against the wall. "Your head would've been rolling on the floor if it weren't for me. Now hush, I can't hear."

She mumbled bitter protests, avoiding his gaze as she squirmed slightly in his grip. Naminé mentally slapped herself for agreeing to come to the stupid haunted house. This was _not _supposed to be this bad. Chainsaws, coffins, Sora- What else would happen? The recycled oxygen was becoming harder and harder to inhale. It was like breathing under a blanket for too long.

An eternity seemed to pass. Naminé couldn't take it anymore.

"Well?" She whispered. "Is the chainsaw gone?" _And can I get off you now? _She barely bit the last part back.

"I think so." He mumbled the response, and lifted a hand off her head to push up the lid. Light flooded into the dark space, making the blonde wince.

Time went in slow-motion for a second.

Standing above their coffin was a man with bright red hair and a bloody hockey mask. His bandaged hand grabbed at the string of the chainsaw, emitting an ear-splitting scream from Naminé as the roar of the chainsaw rang through the halls. Right when she was about to cower behind her arms and say her final prayers, there were two yells mixed in- one high, one low, and the hockey mask man tripped over their coffin and slammed into the wall with a painful thud and fell limp.

Time moved again.

Standing there in place of the man was Tweedle Dee with Kairi, Roxas, and Xion following close behind. The blonde opened and closed her mouth several times in a failed attempt to say something, anything, but no coherent words formed. What should she have said? Thank you? I was scared? How did you find us?

Instead it all came out as "Mmphawaaaaaa?"

Sora seemed unfazed by it all. "Riku! Kairi! Roxas, Xion! How did you get here?" Tidus and Selphie shakily lifted off the covers of their coffins and sat up upon hearing the noise. The brunette stood up and stared at the K.O'd guy who Riku had kicked in the back roughly.

Kairi rubbed the back of her heels. "We followed Selphie's trail of ribbon. Her hat was falling apart, remember?"

Said girl popped right out of her hiding place and took off the whimsical hat. Sure enough, all the bits of ribbon that were on it had fallen off. She started dancing and chanting, "Oh, YEAH! Selphie saves the day! Booyaka!"

Xion smiled weakly. "Selphie, that is _never _going to catch on."

"Lucky Riku got to knock out the chainsaw guy." Roxas adjusted his bunny ears and pocket watch. "Though I'm pretty sure if anyone could knock out a high school senior in one kick, it'd be Tweedle Dee over here."

"You guys alright?" Riku surprisingly offered a hand to the trembling girl who hadn't said a word through the ordeal.

Slowly she took it and stood up. His larger hand was a lot warmer, she couldn't help but notice.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Even her voice was shaking. "But I think you might wanna pay a little more attention to that lump over there." She pointed to the shivering blob that was unsuccessfully hiding under the coffin lid which stuck up due to the puffiness of her teacup costume.

"Is it gone?" Olette squeaked, voice muffled from under the lid.

"Yeah." Tidus nodded. "But that guy is no mystery."

Riku crossed over to the masked redhead and flipped him over, grabbing his arm. Roughly he snapped off the mask to reveal the face of Axel Tatsuyama, a senior and one of the most popular boys at the performing arts school. His signature red spikes and bright green eyes made him an instant hit with the female newcomers. He himself was skinny but surprisingly strong. At least Riku looked and fit the part completely.

"Axel?" Naminé exclaimed. "What is he doing here with a chainsaw?"

Sora kicked away the horrifying weapon to the other side of the room. "Maybe he's here for service hours. You gotta get at least 10 in senior year to graduate."

Kairi sighed. "Of _course _this is the job he decides to take up."

"Should we call the police?" Xion asked worriedly. "He did kinda try to kill us."

Selphie frowned. "That couldn't have been his job, though. He's a pyromaniac, not a murderer… right?" She added the last word a little hesitantly.

"Please. You leave him alone with a chainsaw and teenagers, pyromaniac or not he's gonna go insane with it." Riku shrugged.

"What a creep." Sora scowled, which was a rare look for him. "He could've ended up slicing off someone's head and he'd still get away with it for saying it was just an 'accident'. He sweet talks all the counselors and even Principal Xemnas."

"And does it work?" Naminé asked, pulling Olette out of the coffin.

"Most of the time no." Tidus laughed. "Guy's a broken record. Smooth talking with the ladies, though."

"I only knocked him out. And we still don't know where the exit is. We better hurry before he wakes up." Riku tossed the mask onto his face.

Sora started snickering. "Who's got some duct tape? We could toss him into a coffin and-"

"We're leaving!" Naminé spun on her mary-janed heel and started walking away. She was in no mood to joke around. She'd nearly died! Why did she even agree to come here in the first place? It was all their fault for thinking of even going!

Her feet stopped moving at that thought. No, that wasn't true. None of them had known that a crazed pyromaniac with a chainsaw would chase them through a haunted house. They just wanted to go because they thought it would be fun. And after all, they were together now, so she really didn't have a reason to stay mad at them. Surely they would find a way out. Nobody was to blame. In fact, Riku had just saved her and Sora, so she should've been grateful. Her cheeks burned in shame, and mentally slapped herself for even thinking that. Great friend she was.

"Naminé, what's wrong?" Kairi caught up to her with a worried look on her face.

She smiled weakly. "Nothing, forget it. Let's hurry and get out of here."

A high shriek pierced her ears. Immediately she turned around. "What?"

"Olette, what are you getting so worked up about? It's just a door." Selphie laughed. She'd pulled off the lid of a standing-up coffin to see a hallway attached to the wall.

"Oh… is that light at the end of the hall?" Xion noticed.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah! Let's follow it. We've pretty much explored the rest of the house."

"Dibs!" Sora cried as he ran right into the door.

"Sora! We should stick together!" Riku called, running in after him.

"Sticking together isn't in his mental vocabulary. He does what he wants at his own pace." Tidus chuckled, but followed anyway.

"He never learns." Kairi giggled, heading in.

"No fair!" Selphie screamed, shoving her way in.

"Hey, wait!" Roxas ran into the corridor.

"…How am I supposed to fit?" Olette wailed. "I can't be alone!"

"Are you wearing anything underneath? Maybe you could take your costume off to get through." Xion suggested.

"Well, it's just a T-shirt and the black leggings, but it'll do." Olette started changing out of it as the blonde slowly made her way inside, feeling along a smooth wall. Her heart was pounding, expecting a jumpscare. She was sure that after tonight, she'd never see chainsaws in quite the same way again. In the dark she could make out several figures ahead of her once her eyes adjusted.

"Whoa!" She heard Sora's voice from the end of the road. "What the heck is all this?"

"Did something happen?" Tidus started running so the rest of the group did as well. The sudden brightness against her eyes made her wince and blink rapidly. Once she regained her vision, she got a clear look of her surroundings.

The walls and floors were painted an eerie blood-red. A long, long hallway stretched in front of them, strange paintings hanging up on the walls. They were beautiful, but seemed splattered in what Naminé could only hope was red paint. When she looked at the name plates below the paintings, they seemed scratched up, burned, and stained with the red stuff. It was almost as if someone was crawling out of the picture, trying to free themselves but was too late and caught fire. The very thought sent shivers down her spine.

"The hell is up with this place?" Tidus whispered. "These paintings are so…"

"Unsettling." Xion softly finished.

"It's like they were trying to escape." Naminé voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah, none of them have names. Were these really burned or something?" Roxas wondered.

Kairi held her chin in thought. "Do these halls ever end?"

"They have to," Riku adamantly said. "It's not possible."

Sora shook his brown head. "Let's keep moving. Nothing else we can do."

The group walked forward in silence although Naminé's feet were beginning to grow sore in the mary-janes. The shoes were already uncomfortable enough, but now they were starting to ache out of pure exhaustion. Physical activities weren't her thing and never would be now. Not after this, at least. She wondered for a while how many calories she must've burned in one night when she came across two very familiar paintings and her feet stopped.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, making the group jump at the sudden sound of her voice. "These are…!"

"Starry Night and the Mona Lisa." Riku said.

"What about it?" Selphie asked.

"I've seen these a million times before, but I still get so excited just looking!" A wide grin stretched onto her cheeks. "I wonder how long these took to paint…" She reached out to touch idly at the smooth surface of the swirled colours of Starry Night. "So beautiful."

"I don't know about you, but the Mona Lisa always freaked me out." Tidus eyed said painting cautiously as if the beautiful woman would reach out with her hands and strangle him. "Did you guys hear there's some sort of hidden message behind her eyes? It's probably some death message."

Naminé looked carefully at the woman. "Really? I think it's neat. Mystery is always a cool factor in famous paintings. Imagine how long this must have taken." Her fingers brushed over something round and bumpy in the Mona Lisa's dress. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Olette said, voice a bit high with anticipation.

"That doesn't seem right." She frowned. "There's this round lump here. Paintings are usually perfectly smooth."

"A button?" Selphie wondered. "Press it press it!"

"Are you sure?" Her hand hovered hesitantly over the spot. "It could be a trap."

"Do it!" Sora urged.

"Well…"

"Stop hesitating!" Tidus clapped a hearty hand on her back. "We got nothing else to do."

"Alright, alright." Naminé pushed on the button.

Everything was quiet for a few moments. Then a large square panel started moving outwards and slid to the side, revealing a dark chute of some sort. There was no seeing inside, or any source of light.

"So it was a mechanism." Riku nodded.

"Where does it lead?" Xion wondered aloud.

Naminé shook her head. "I don't wanna know. It's totally dark!"

"It may be our only exit." Kairi said.

"Anyone got a phone or something? Maybe we could use it to see inside." Tidus suggested.

"I've got mine." The dressed-up Alice pulled her white iPhone out of her white stockings where she'd been safekeeping it. Somehow it didn't fall out while she was running earlier. "Alright, let's see where this goes." Pressing the circular power button, she got down on her hands and knees and reached her arm inside, shining the corridor with light, but nothing got any clearer. It really was just darkness.

"See anything?" Riku asked.

She shook her head before realizing they couldn't quite see it. "No, there's nothing. I don't see a ladder or anything. It's just black all over."

"Guess we'll have to find another exit." Sora sighed. "It's just a trapdoor."

"Yeah." Naminé let out a sigh as well and began to withdraw her arm when her hand bumped roughly against the top of the entrance and her gloved fingers began to slip from her precious phone. She gasped loudly and reached in deeper and soon the device was bouncing around the chute. Naminé continued reaching further in until her whole body from her waist up was inside. She could hear her friends calling her, asking what was wrong, but she was too busy trying to save her poor phone. After it bounced off the back of her hand one last time, it fell into the darkness and out of her sight.

"_No!_" She heard herself cry out, lunging for it, and this time falling head-over-heels into the chute after it.

A ghastly shriek ripped from her lungs as she tumbled down, down, down into the blackness, limbs flailing and desperate to grab onto something, _anything _that could stop her from falling to her death because she wasn't too fond of the idea of it. Her friends' voices called for her, several of them mixing together into ones she could hardly depict from the others. Her thought process was quickly deteriorating, but her jumbled thoughts managed to come together into a few simple lines:

_I have almost died too many times in one night._

_I have to ask for a new phone._

_I'm probably going to die now._

_What a horrible way to die._

Her rear slammed hard in a rough landing onto a cool metal surface she hadn't been able to see before. Blue eyes flying open in shock, she glanced around and tried to stand up and respond to the voices above, but then she started sliding down the metal.

And kept sliding.

That was when she realized she was trapped in some freak metal slide-chute thing and was probably going to keep sliding until she hit the bottom, wherever the heck that was.

An exit?

However, she was having a bit of a problem pondering over this because she was rapidly going down a steep incline and was not slowing down at all no matter how frantically her gloved fingers clawed at the metal surface under her. Before long she found the wind whipping her hair back wildly and her lungs burning from screaming too much. Her eyes squeezed shut as her mouth hung open, releasing a shrill yell that was almost as loud and desperate as the one she'd let out on the way down. Sure, she had dressed up as Alice, but this was a Rabbit Hole she hadn't been expecting to fall down. At all.

The shaft, whatever it was designed for, twisted and turned like a water slide. Naminé's stomach twisted in knots, feeling a faint vertigo start to swirl within her. If it were possible for hearts to leap, hers would've been in her throat at the time. Her mind blanked completely until she made one last sharp turn and popped outside, landing roughly on a squishy mattress.

Mattress?

The cool, refreshing night air felt wonderful against her flushed skin. Catching her breath, she looked around. There was a lineup for the haunted house, Halloween music playing, and a man dressed up as a vampire stood outside the exit she'd just flew out of. Naminé craned her neck behind her to see that she'd popped out of what looked like a chimney on the side of the house.

She opened her mouth to speak when the vampire interrupted.

"Congratulations! You've found the secret exit to the haunted house!" He started to applaud. "By the way, does this happen to be yours? Came out of the exit a while before you did." In a white and red glove held Naminé's iPhone, which, aside from a few scratches on the screen, was in perfect condition.

Still traumatized from the wild ride, she found herself unable to respond, and grabbed the phone and checked it up and down before hugging it to her chest. Thank goodness…

"_Look out!" _

When she blinked, something crashed right on top of her, knocking the wind out of her and crushing her thin body to the mattress. The weight continued to increase until she was sure they would have to get a new mattress to replace the giant hole that had been created in the middle of it. Lifting her head, which was about the weight of a bowling ball at the moment, a streak of brown lifted up as well to look her in the eye.

"Sorry, Nami." Tweedle Dum greeted her.

After everyone picked themselves up, Xion was surprisingly the first one to speak words of wisdom:

"Never again."

A huge group hug ensued. Nobody complained.

* * *

An hour later, Naminé was back in her father's car wrapped tightly in his coat on the ride home. She'd never been so glad to be in his car. For the first time that night she realized how exhausted she was.

"Didn't I say you'd be cold?" His face turned to her in profile.

"I told you Father, I hate working up a sweat." She replied in nothing but raw honesty.

"Well, I suppose you enjoyed yourself. Was it scary?"

Naminé thought about this for a second. In one night she'd been chased by a chainsaw, pulled into a coffin, nearly had her head sliced off, fell through a trap door, slid down a metal slide and landed on a mattress and got crushed by all her friends.

"Nah."

* * *

**A/N: Oh my gosh, it's been way too long since I've updated this fic. I was starting to write another one and almost forgot that I had to finish writing the conclusion for this month/chapter. The next one will be a bit more serious, so feel free to tell me what you think and R&R! :)  
**


	5. November- part I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Everything except my imagination belongs to Square Enix. **

* * *

November part I

"Riku…"

Said boy's teal eyes fluttered open in the night. Instinctively his gaze fell on the little girl standing by his door. He sat up in his bed and looked at his younger sister, short silver hair falling just past her shoulders in her light pink pajamas. In her arms was her favorite stuffed dog which she had appropriately named Mr. Kibble. Mr. Kibble was worn with age as she had been holding it all the time since she was a toddler, but still she carried it around with her because she believed he brought good luck and protected her from nightmares. Unfortunately tonight it seemed as though her charm didn't work. Her innocent green eyes met her older brother's.

"Riku, I can't sleep." She hugged Mr. Kibble tight to her chest.

Without a word, he shifted over in his bed and lifted the blankets away, giving her enough room to crawl in beside him. Hurriedly she did so, basking in the warmth of the big brother she loved so much as he lifted the covers up to her shoulders.

"Sure you can. You're a big girl, Yuka." He hugged her small body closer to him. "Show those nightmares what you're made of and soon they'll leave you alone."

She shook her head. "Can't they go away now?"

"Where do you want to be right now?" He asked softly, gaze falling on the digital clock. The big neon numbers read 2:21. Yuka shouldn't have been up this late. He could only wonder what she could be dreaming of to be awake at this time.

"With Mom." Yuka answered quickly.

"Okay. Close your eyes and you'll be there before you know it." Riku assured her.

It took a while, but finally her green eyes fell shut and she was breathing steadily. Riku knew she always slept better when he was with her; it made her feel safer than when she slept with Mr. Kibble. Even now, she still held him tight.

Soon his eyes grew heavy and he fell into a light sleep until 5:54, six minutes before his alarm would go off. He reached a sturdy arm over and turned off the alarm so it wouldn't wake Yuka. Riku flopped over on his back when he noticed he was lying on something that was definitely not his bed. Reaching under him, he found fluffy Mr. Kibble, who had somehow ended up away from Yuka. Crawling out of bed, he put the stuffed animal back in her arms and tucked her in. He gave her a small kiss on the forehead before getting dressed for school.

The sun rose.

* * *

"Ugh, it's getting colder, isn't it?" Sora rubbed his arms through his thin coat.

"Then can we just go back inside? Why are we even on the roof after _that_?" Naminé complained, and everyone knew right away what _that _was.

"Come on, that was two months ago." Tidus grinned, shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"Yeah, well that doesn't make it any less cold." Roxas muttered under his breath.

"I only like cold weather 'cause it makes me look like a dragon." Selphie puffed a breath into the air, but nothing formed. "Aw."

Xion wrapped her grey scarf a little tighter around her neck. "It's cold. Come on, let's go back. Class starts in ten minutes."

"Hey, Riku." Kairi said after the group parted ways to go to their classes. "Didn't you say you would be volunteering to play for the Remembrance Day assembly?"

"Oh, you are?" Naminé hadn't known this. She was a little embarrassed that in the few months they'd known each other, she still hadn't heard him play once. He must've been talented though, to be able to make it to this school.

Riku put his hands in his pockets. "Maybe. I don't know yet. Someone else might already have volunteered."

"You should," Naminé suggested. "I bet you've got the talent for it."

"Please." He half-heartedly scoffed. "There's always someone better."

"But Riku, you should do it anyway! You'll blow everyone away!" Kairi exclaimed as they started climbing up the busy stairs to their art class.

Riku scratched the back of his neck, moving the silver locks with the motion. Naminé always wondered how it looked so perfect. "You think?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, definitely!"

"At lunch, we're signing you up." Kairi decided.

"What?" He sighed. "Really?"

"Of course! What kind of friend would I be then?" She grinned.

"A horrible one." He muttered.

Naminé giggled. "What would you expect?"

"I hate playing for other people." Riku admitted. "I play whatever I want to play."

"You don't get to choose?" Kairi asked, blue eyes confused.

He shook his head. "Nope. I do kinda have something in mind, but what they'll make me perform won't be the best in the world."

"I'm sure you can make it sound nice." Naminé said politely.

"If you're gonna flatter someone, at least do it right." Riku left it at that as he opened the door to their messy art room.

Naminé and Kairi took their usual seats next to each other near the front of the room.

"Don't worry about Riku. He always gets a little prickly around this time of year." Kairi smiled.

"Why's that?" Naminé pulled her sketchbook out of her bag and flipped to her latest sketch of a rose in a vase.

Kairi shook her red locks. "You'll have to learn for yourself. But don't worry. Once you get through his shell, he's not that hard to understand." She looked over at the silverette, who was absently scribbling something in the margins of a paper. "He's been through a lot."

"I could've guessed." Naminé sighed. "All of us have been, huh?"

Kairi hummed a response and idly played with her phone until the bell rang. In the meantime, Naminé opened her sketchbook to a brand new page. Opening her pencil case full of arrays of colours, her fingers lightly touched the teal pencil crayon.

The artistic spark that she hadn't felt for so long returned once again.

* * *

Her fingers pressed down on a different string, and a pleasantly high note sang from the violin. Tucking her chin comfortably on the smooth pad, her arm swished the violin bow back and forth across the bridge of strings. A beautiful melody rang throughout the room, and Naminé lost herself in the music, blue eyes sliding shut. She felt herself sway to the tune, completely immersed in the moment. This was her idea of paradise. No sound except for the music, no people except for herself. Nobody but her, nobody to judge her or tell her what to do. In that little moment in time, she let herself fly away.

As the last, sweet note faded from _Howl's Moving Castle_, there was the sound of the mail chute opening and something heavy being dumped outside the door. Gingerly placing the violin back in its case, she nimbly flew down the spiral staircase and opened the front doors. A large package sat on the doorstep, which she hauled inside onto the kitchen table. She almost started screaming when she saw the label.

It was from Mom!

Naminé grinned. It'd been three weeks since she'd heard anything from her mother. Maybe she would come home soon! Picking up the letter that came with the box, she found her mom's unmistakably neat cursive written on the page.

_To my dear daughter Naminé,_

_How have you been? I've missed you so much. It's already starting to get cold here in New York. All sorts of winter collections are being released as I write this. Everything is so fashionable. I'm sure you would love it here._

That made her frown. How would she know that? All her mother's letters started out the same: ask how she's been, how much she's missed her, and some sort of update about the fashion in New York where she was working as a famous designer. There wasn't much she could do about it, so she kept reading.

_How has school been working for you? Meet any boys? If a certain someone happens to catch your eye, let me know right away! _

Her cheeks burned. What? Where did that come from?

_Come to mention it, it's been an awful long time since I've heard the beautiful sound of your violin. I'm sorry, but this month won't work either. I'm needed to co-host another fashion show in Los Angeles. I promise I'll make time no matter what. I love you so much for understanding. _

Naminé's heart sank. There went the faint glimmer of hope that maybe she would be able to come home. She doubted that December would work, unless she could finally visit for Christmas holidays. She couldn't remember the last time that they'd been able to spend Christmas together as a family. Still, she held onto that hope.

_Here are some of the newest winter clothes that have hit the shelves in NY. I know it'll start to get cold where you are, so I thought I should plan ahead. You'll definitely love them. You should fit them all perfectly, but tell me if you don't fit a size or two anymore! My daughter has been growing up so fast._

Why did all parents say that? And why would _she _say that? She wouldn't know. She hadn't been home in months. What gave _her_, of all people, the right to tell her that? Naminé realized her hands were trembling, shaking the paper lightly. She shook her head quickly and read over the last couple sentences.

_Give your father my regards. I hope to see you soon. _

_Love, Mother_

The disappointment clenched in her stomach for a long time. That was another month she would be alone again.

She searched the box's contents in an attempt to try to push the depression away. Inside she found a white knit beret, a green military jacket with a fake fur hood, a red and maroon striped scarf, a pair of woolen socks and an ivory cache-coeur. To be honest, she hardly did any shopping for clothes herself, which she found a little embarrassing being the daughter of a famous designer and all. If people knew, they would expect her to have a great sense of fashion, which she truthfully didn't have much of. She had some ideas of what colours went nicely together, but when it came to actually matching _clothes _to make a full outfit she was completely lost. Never had she admitted this to her mother. Most of the time she depended on her to make the clothing choices in her stead.

Ever since she was little her mom chose the clothes that she would wear when she went out. The outfits were always so adorable. Even when she'd long outgrown them, she kept her mother's favorite picks for her in a box at the back of her walk-in closet, out of her father's reach. She could've placed it anywhere she wanted; she knew her father hardly ever came into her room. But she feared what would happen to it if he found it and complained about the clutter taking up too much space and fly off on his lecture about being organized. Sometimes even she didn't know why she kept it- opening it made her hear her mother's voice.

"_Oh Naminé, you look adorable today!"_

"_Try this on next. I know you'll love it."_

"_I bought you some new shoes! Come on, let's try."_

"_Why don't you wear this tomorrow?"_

"_I love you so much."_

The unwanted memories made tears well up in her eyes, so she ran all the way upstairs, ripped her sketchbook out of her bag, and flipped to the very last secret page. It was covered in incoherent scribbles and words to describe all her angry thoughts, whether at people who made her mad or even herself. Sometimes she would just write her mom's name over and over again. Desperate not to let herself cry, she spent half an hour scribbling her name and drawing wiggled lines so hard the lead breaking was one of the only sounds in the room. Her sadness melted into an ugly mix of frustration and disappointment she couldn't control. Coloured pencils flew across the room, lead broken.

And not a single tear fell.

* * *

The next day after school, Naminé stayed behind in the library for an hour or two to look up a picture for reference since her creativity was running low. She always found it frustrating how she pictured it so easily in her mind but Google never quite let her form the words to name it. As her fingers nonchalantly tapped around on the keyboard pointlessly, she noticed how quiet the school was after class hours were over. Maybe it was just because she was in a library where it was hushed and calm, but something about the stuffy environment had changed. She liked it. Just being in such a huge school was overwhelming. On the first day entering the hallways she felt like she was suffocating in the sweltering atmosphere.

_Or drowning. _She thought with a frown. _This place is crazy, but maybe it isn't so bad. I have endured it for the past two months. What should I tell Mom about it?_

She let out a sigh as the printer whirred. Naminé picked up the picture of a dewdrop on a leaf, tucked it into her binder, and left the library. Although she didn't love the photo, she thought she would look strangely out of place going to the library and not getting anything out of it. The last thing she wanted was to be noticed in a sea of people- but not that there was one anyways. Her pencil case rested awkwardly on top of her binder, but her bag was getting full. It clattered slightly with her walk, the top of it barely peeking out of the top.

Passing through the hallways at a quick pace, her head turned to the bulletin boards that covered the walls. Notices about meetings, festivals, vacations, and field trips were all posted here. Nothing was posted that usually concerned her though. _Why am I even looking? _She asked herself, and glanced out the window. It was starting to rain.

"I forgot my umbrella in my locker." Naminé groaned to herself.

She started to change her route to her locker when her body perked up at the faint but unmistakable sound of a piano playing softly in the distance. Who was that? A spike of hope flared up in her thinking it might be Riku. But didn't he say earlier that day he would be heading home early? Something about an errand for his dad. Now her curiosity levels were so high she couldn't take it. Turning around the corner, she followed the beautifully smooth sound. It was melancholy and seemed almost hopeful, but not quite reaching it. Heart thumping, she realized it was coming from the music room. Right. They had a grand piano there.

Naminé fought the urge to burst right into the room and confront whoever was there. Instead, she backed herself against the wall and peeked inside just enough to see.

Even though she knew it was coming, she barely stifled a gasp. She was right. Sitting on the piano bench was Riku with the calmest, yet slightly sad expression on his face. Never had she seen him with such a peaceful look. She could hear the smooth glide of notes blend together with deep ones in a perfect harmony; hear the vibrato, but most of all the emotion that was in it. Such a sad, bittersweet melody. Was this the song that Riku was planning to play? She'd never heard a song like this before. If he said it was the below-standards song the teachers expected him to perform, he was dead wrong. Or was this the thing he said he 'kinda had in mind'?

Suddenly she was snapped out of her trance when multiple notes were pressed, emitting a loud, deep, and descending gliss that sent shivers down her spine. Words coiled up in her, but not just words. Questions, and emotions too. She almost found her mouth opening to finally release them all, but bit them back. Now what was she supposed to do?

The song still wasn't over. Softly sweet notes played and faded in a rinse-and-repeat action. It sent her heart fluttering at the gorgeous sound. She took a quick step forward when her pencil case tumbled out of her book bag, spilling the coloured pencils all over the floor in a harsh symphony of clatters that stopped Riku's playing abruptly.

Her body broke out into a cold sweat as reality slammed into her side like a truck. Her cover was blown. She wanted her body to move, to run, to do _something_ but she found herself immobilized, almost like she knew and was prepared for what was going to happen. But what that was, she didn't know. What would Riku say? How would he react? Besides, the pencils were everywhere. There was no way she could scoop them all up and flee in time.

She squeezed her blue eyes shut, nails biting into her palms. _He's going to hate me, _her mind screamed. _He's going to hate me for eavesdropping and never talk to me again. _

Naminé heard his footsteps get closer and closer. She gulped. _Here he comes! _

Instead there was a quick rush of air and soon she realized why that was. Opening her eyes, Riku's back was turned to her and retreating but not at a fast or humiliated pace. He was just… walking.

The words tumbled out, leaving the blonde desperate for answers. "Riku, wait!"

The silver-haired boy didn't stop. Frustrated, she stepped to him and grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stop. "Riku. That song…"

He didn't pick up for her. She pushed on.

"Is that the one you're performing at the assembly? I… I've never heard something like that before." She could hear her heart in her ears.

"Guess you heard." He finally said quietly.

"Y-Yeah, I did. It was so bittersweet and… sad." Her grip loosened, but he didn't pull away. "Did you…" She gulped again. "Write it?"

Suddenly his face turned to a cold profile, teal eyes sharp, wide, and infuriated. "Yeah? And so what if I did? Who gives a damn?" His voice raised so much it was almost echoing in the halls. He turned to face her and she automatically shrunk away, stung from the burning words. "I didn't ask for anyone to sneak their prying noses into my business! Why can't you just leave me alone for two godforsaken sec-"

His head snapped to the side. Naminé's right arm was out. Everything was silent for several seconds as an angry slap echoed in the empty hallway and a harsh red mark started to form on his pale skin.

Shakily her hand fell back to her side. "You're right." Her voice was trembling, eyes hot with tears once again. "Why _do _I give a damn?" Riku's shocked gaze focused back on the shorter girl.

Naminé looked up at him with her tearful face, gritting her teeth so hard she thought they would snap. "Look me in the eyes and ask me that again." She slowly said, trying hard not to burst into tears right then and there.

She didn't wait for a response. Naminé stormed off, blonde hair trailing behind her. She either didn't realize or didn't care that her coloured pencils were still all over the floors.

After she left, Riku cupped his stinging cheek as his expression calmed again. Then his gaze landed on the pencils she'd dropped. He bent down and picked several of them up. Every piece of lead was snapped.

All of them except the teal.

* * *

**A/N:** Ohhhhh, drama! Sorry that this chapter was a little rushed. It'll make up in the next one, which should be a lot longer than this. I decided I should give Riku a little backstory so the next one will also be Riku-centric. The other characters will get their turn in the spotlight too, so please R&R for more! :)


	6. November- part II

**Sorry for the wait! Here is the long-awaited conclusion of November! :)  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts! Everything except my imagination belongs to Square Enix and Disney. **

* * *

November part II

_Missing You_

_I can't believe him._

Naminé stood outside on her small balcony, hunched in a thick baby blue blanket as the sun began to set. It was chilly, but her pajama pants were fluffy and at least her shoulders were warm.

Tears stung her eyes once again. Even though she knew no one could see, she buried her face in her arms, which were resting on the fence. Why? Why would Riku say something like that? She knew the two of them were never that close, but it still hurt. Or maybe she was just sensitive to raised voices because it brought back memories of…

She shook her head. No. She couldn't allow herself to compare the two. They were completely different. At least she had done something to stop it though. But the thought of going to school and seeing him again made her stomach tie in knots. There was no way she could face him. Not after she'd slapped him across the face and took off without an explanation. What else could she have done, though?

"I have to apologize." Naminé whispered to herself. _But doesn't he have to too? He was the one who started yelling. But I was the one who eavesdropped and got caught. Maybe it is my fault. If I hadn't spied on him or blew my cover, everything would be okay. _Remorse swallowed her thoughts like a black hole. _Maybe I could call Kairi? _She reached for her iPhone but stopped. How could she explain what happened?

The red and pink sky started to fade into a dark blue. Naminé lifted her head to watch it as her blonde hair fluttered in the breeze. She tried to tuck her bangs behind her ear, but it wasn't any use. Her bangs were still in that horrible growing-out stage- too short to tuck behind the ear, too long to keep from getting in her eyes. She could get it cut, but that would mean bothering Father. Perhaps she could make an appointment herself; but then Father would worry about where she was.

"Even though he leaves me alone at home for most of the day." She couldn't help but mutter bitterly.

* * *

"Riku, what happened to your face?"

Riku looked down to see Yuka staring up at him curiously with her sea-green eyes. Well, not at him, but mostly the red mark on his cheek.

He threw his backpack to the foot of the bed. "I fell on it weirdly at school. Don't worry about it." Quickly he retreated downstairs to the kitchen in an attempt to cancel out Yuka's questions for a while. Pulling an ice pack out of the freezer, Riku heard Yuka stomping down the stairs.

"Riku, this isn't yours. Why do you have it?" She held up the light blue pencil case.

Riku took it from her and put it on the kitchen table. "I borrowed it from someone for art class."

"A friend?" Yuka went up on her tiptoes and opened the box. Every piece of lead was broken.

Gently he closed it. "Nah."

Yuka frowned. "Then they wouldn't let you borrow it, would they?"

"I guess I just… asked nicely enough." Riku hoped his little sister could get _something_ out of whatever this was. "Anyways, you shouldn't have been digging through my backpack, Yuka."

But by the look on her face, he could tell she wasn't convinced. "Sorry, Riku. But why are all of them broken? How are you going to use them now?"

The silver-haired boy pressed the pack to his face. She'd slapped him harder than he'd thought she could. "I don't know."

Yuka brightened. "Oh, I'll help you sharpen them! Then you can colour with them!"

Riku smiled one of those rare smiles only Yuka could draw out of him. "Will you? Thanks."

She nodded her head happily. "Yeah! I'll get the sharpeners!" Yuka stopped mid-way out of the kitchen. "Um… where are they again?"

He laughed softly. "Check my desk. They should be there."

Five minutes later, the sunset washed over the kitchen table as the scraping of the pencils was the only sound in the room.

Yuka carefully placed a purple pencil crayon into the box. "I hope your friend'll be happy with this."

Riku wasn't sure how to respond. "Me too." He finally said.

"You _sure _they're not your friend?" Yuka eyed him suspiciously.

"Not after what I said." He whispered.

"Why? Did you say something mean?" She questioned.

This time he really didn't respond. The last thing he needed was to get Yuka thinking about such serious matters for someone her age. She should be enjoying the time she had as a child; not worrying over problems that weren't hers to begin with.

The sun set.

* * *

The two students barely even looked at each other that day at school. At lunch, they sat as far away from each other as they could. Nothing was communicated; it was a natural instinct to avoid each other. And Riku seemed even more sullen and withdrawn than he usually was, but nobody seemed to question it except Naminé. Did they already know why?

Naminé needed her coloured pencils back but she had no idea if Riku even had them. And if he didn't… well, that would make things even more awkward, as if they couldn't already be. She tapped a reminder into her phone to ask for a new set, even though she'd gotten hers not so long ago. It's not like Father cared what happened to them anyway.

In all honesty, she was trying her best to restrain herself from crying. It wasn't like she had the right to. She'd started all of this. And how could she ever explain to _anyone _that she'd slapped a guy who she wanted to befriend? It was just ridiculous. But why had he blown up in the first place? That song… It seemed to her somehow that it was meant for something. It felt right to believe that, but she could only wonder what could've happened for such a heartbreaking melody to symbolize his memories.

Quickly she brushed it off.

Besides, whatever she'd ever thought about him was probably wrong. It was clear now. She'd never understand him. Why even bother?

* * *

Due to her slight depression, she scribbled furiously in her sketchbook after school, in a silent corner of the library. She'd held in what she'd been feeling for the whole day and released it all into her angry thoughts on the page. Naminé didn't have her coloured pencils, so her lead pencil would have to do. The tears didn't fall, thankfully. But she found herself writing one word over and over again.

_whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywh ywhywhywhywhywhywhy_

She wasn't lying. Why?

Naminé shut the sketchbook with a sigh. Maybe she should have some name for it. Sketchbook therapy? She wasn't in the mood to dwell too much on the subject. Carefully tucking it into her book bag, she left the library.

Her footsteps seemed to echo in the empty halls. The school was almost eerie when most of the students cleared out for the day.

That's also why the sound of the piano was so loud and clear.

Naminé's heart skipped a beat. He was back again today? Well, there were only a couple days until the Remembrance Day assembly. But couldn't he practice at home? Did he not own a piano?

She didn't think that far ahead. She knew she should've just gone home in case the same thing happened again, but the smooth glide of the melody, the thundering harmony… The tune itself was mesmerizingly melancholy. Naminé couldn't bring herself to just walk away.

_Besides, it'll be fine as long as I don't get caught again. _She rationalized, sneaking a peek into her bag. Her separate pencil case for erasers and pencils was much smaller than her art one. Everything was neatly in place, nothing threatening to burst out of the top. She was safe; for the time being. Riku hadn't caught her spying on him until her pencil case fell out. Being seen wasn't a problem.

Quickly her feet carried her all the way to the music room. The song was still playing. Pressing herself against the wall tightly, she closed her eyes to revel in the sound of the music. Who knew Riku could play this well? She felt immensely satisfied hearing him for the first time, but the same shivers appeared on her skin during the second.

When the last note faded, her cerulean eyes flickered open again. Oh… it was over. Kind of a shame. If he was practicing tomorrow, maybe she could-

"Eavesdropping again."

Her heart leapt into her throat as Riku's piercing teal gaze fixed on her face. She winced, preparing for the rush of words to stab her yet again.

_Don't slap him this time. _Naminé warned herself. _That's already been done. _

She felt another rush of air and opened her eyes. But Riku wasn't walking away. He'd just gone back inside.

She summoned as much courage as she could muster and stepped inside after him. The whole room was empty, and a fairly large stage was at the back of the room. The grand piano was off to one side, the other had stacks of chairs and music stands. Riku sat alone on the piano bench, fingers gently pressing at the keys, emitting slow and soothing hums.

"Why are you here?" Riku asked, voice unkind but not venomous either.

Naminé gulped. "I was leaving the library and heard you playing again."

"Don't you hate me?" His gaze flickered to her, teal eyes sharp and unforgiving.

"Good question." She admitted. "Don't _you _hate _me_?"

He pointed to his cheek. "You'd think I'd have the right to ask after you smacked this."

Guilt swirled in her stomach like a black hole. "Riku… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you. I'm so sorry." She should've felt relieved, but she needed to know that he held the other end of the apology as well.

His fingers paused their nonchalant pressing. "Nah. Sorry I freaked out and started yelling." Riku stared back at the piano. "And if you really wanted to know, I did write the song."

"Yeah?" She prompted, crossing the room to pull over a folding chair when Riku stopped her and scooted over a bit on the wide piano bench. Naminé stood in shock for a minute until he tossed her a frown. "You gonna sit or not?"

With a quick nod she planted herself on the black seat next to him. They were uncomfortably close, with only a few centimeters of space between their shoulders. She could almost feel the heat coming off him.

"So…" Her voice seemed too loud in the sheer silence of the room, and she flinched at the volume but pushed on. "Did you write that song for something? Or was it just the assembly?"

He shook his head. "Neither."

"Huh?"

His eyes fell back to the piano keys and started pressing them once again. "It's for my mom."

An uneasy feeling started welling up within her. For his mom, but such a haunting, depressing tune…

"Riku?" She whispered.

"Yuka was only two years old at the time." He continued, not meeting her eyes. His silver bangs fell over his own. "And it was my tenth birthday."

* * *

Mom was probably the most beautiful woman in the whole world.

She's the one who gave me and Yuka the colour of our hair and eyes. She had the most beautiful smile. Kind, gentle, and forgetful sometimes, but that's why we would stick by her to remind her of the things she had to do. Everything functioned properly, the way it was supposed to.

Mom was coming home late from work that night. Dad was in the kitchen trying to make omelet rice even though it smelled really burnt. When the phone rang, I dashed to get it and held it to my ear.

I knew it was her. "Hi, Mom." I smiled right away.

"Happy birthday, my little man!" Her sweet voice resounded on the other end of the line. "I'm bringing home your birthday cake right now, so wait for me!"

I could hear the sound of the rain in the background, and it was a lot louder than it should've been. "Mom, aren't you on the bus? Don't tell me you're walking!"

She laughed. "Oh, I couldn't decide on what cake to get you. The time just flew by and before I knew it I missed the bus! It's alright though, I have my umbrella."

Before I could open my mouth, Dad came into the living room, still wearing that ridiculous white-and-blue polka-dotted apron Mom would wear when she was cooking. "There you are, Riku. Is Mom coming home?"

I lifted the phone away to respond. "She missed the bus, but she says she's coming home now." Then I got an idea. "Oh, Mom. Why don't I come meet you?" I knew sometimes she could forget which way to turn in the dark. "Can you wait at the bus stop outside our neighborhood? Are you near there?"

"I should be there in a couple minutes. Tell Dad to come with you, okay?"

"He's busy making dinner, and he's gotta take care of Yuka. Can't I just go? It's only a two-minute walk." I reasoned.

"Nope." She said firmly. "Dad's going with you."

I heaved out a sigh. "Fine."

I could almost see Mom's understanding smile. "Thanks, little man." And the line went dead.

I didn't want to admit it, but I didn't want Dad to come. I wasn't a little kid anymore and I wanted Mom to see that. Plus if I went by myself, she'd see that I'm mature enough to go places on my own. Maybe she'd even praise me for being so brave. Nothing bad could happen in a two-minute walk anyway.

At that perfect moment Yuka started to cry, probably because she didn't like the burning smell and Dad abandoned his post in the kitchen to soothe her in the nursery. I took the chance and ran towards the door, grabbing my dark blue raincoat off the coat rack. I knew that if I didn't wear it Mom would be worried I would catch a cold. She'd insisted I get the yellow because I'd be easier to see but I remember saying it wouldn't be cool to look like a traffic light.

Slowly I opened the door, and it didn't make as much as a creak. I turned the knob as I shut it quietly so it wouldn't slam. I looked up. The rain was coming down hard, the sun long gone, completely hidden in the blackness. Cars sped by, threatening to splash water over the sidewalk. When I didn't focus, the lights of cars and street lights all melded into one big blur. Pulling up my hood so hopefully nobody would notice I was out, I turned the corner quickly towards the nearest bus stop. It wasn't a long walk from our house, but I wanted to meet Mom there anyways. I hadn't seen her at all today, and I wanted to be the first to get a hug from her since Yuka usually hogged all the attention. But she would never know that.

The sound of the rain was deafeningly loud, echoing in my ears and soon it was the only thing I could hear mixed in with the swishes of the cars that sped by. I stuck close to the far end of the sidewalk to try to avoid getting splashed. I didn't think Mom would appreciate getting soaked from a hug when the rain was already coming down this hard.

Several strangers passed by. Some of them slowed down to look at me, but I didn't slow my pace to look at them. When I reached the intersection, I saw Mom's green umbrella and an undeniably large smile broke out on my face. Now I started walking faster, and eventually running. I couldn't see Mom's face very clearly but she started walking faster too. I could see a box tied with a ribbon; definitely the cake, but I didn't care about the cake as much as I did Mom. Carelessly I pushed the street-cross button and pushed on ahead into the street when it seemed like there was a break in traffic.

Time slowed.

A shadow stretched away from me onto the wet cement.

It was mine.

I barely had enough time to glance at the monstrous truck screaming towards me before I squeezed my eyes shut. My muscles froze. I couldn't do a thing.

I heard a crash come from a different direction, but I didn't pay attention to what it was. Because something hard smashed into me at the last second, and in mere seconds I was rolling roughly on the pavement in the middle of the road, my rescuer still holding me tightly as a searing pain scraped my cheek and hands. The world spun, and I spiraled into darkness as I heard a voice calling something I couldn't hear.

The harsh squeal of tires all around woke me from my daze. Scattered voices were everywhere. Soon my eyes slowly opened and I winced at the headlights shining onto me. Someone was still holding me as I lay on my stomach. Shakily I brought a hand into my vision, head pounding and approximately the weight of a bowling ball.

It was soaked with crimson blood.

Gasping, I rolled out of the person's arms and looked at the ground around me. The rain had spread the blood all around where I was lying. My raincoat was stained red. I wasn't hurt, but I wanted to scream.

Warning bells rang in my head as I looked at my savior.

When I saw the silver hair streaked with blood, all the air left my lungs. My heart plummeted to my stomach and through the floor.

"Mom!" I screamed, grabbing her shoulder and flipping her over on her back through the sleeves of her black jacket. "Mom!"

My breath came to me in sharp, rugged gasps. My hands shook. The blood was splattered all over her stomach and cheek. Her bangs covered her eyes eerily. I could feel the rain getting into my widened eyes.

"AMBULANCE!" I shrieked. "SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

I heard murmurs of voices around me, people desperately calling for help.

"Oh God, Mom, you've got to wake up! Mom!" I shook her shoulder fiercely, splashing more blood-water onto my clothes. Never had I seen so much in my life. "Mom!"

My lips trembled pathetically as my heart pounded in my ears, drumming relentlessly as the dull sounds of splashing footsteps and wailing sirens slowed and played back in my mind.

"Mama!" My mouth had spoken without consent from my brain. I hadn't called her that since I was three and insisted I was too old to call her such a babyish name. It just slipped as tears of frustration, confusion, hurt and anger formed in my eyes at the sudden realization I was watching my only mother die.

A scream so long, so painfully long ripped from my lungs until my throat was burning and raw.

When a pair of foreign hands started lifting me up under the arms, I threw myself over Mom's body.

"Don't touch me!" I yelled. "_MOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_" My fingers tangled in the soaked fabric of her coat but quickly slipped away from the moisture. I was clawing desperately, trying to hang onto her, my mother's beauty crushed and replaced with scarred innocence.

Bright lights from the ambulances all around shone into my eyes until it was painful to even have them open. My muscles were screaming silent bloody murder. I felt dead, like a rock was settling in my stomach as the stranger put me in the backseat of a police car. I wanted to barf. I could almost taste the bitter blood in my mouth and as I struggled to give the directions home to the bearded man in front of me I had to wonder if it was even my own.

* * *

Naminé's blood felt as cold and solid as ice. Was her heart still beating? She couldn't do anything but stare dumbly as Riku's hand curled into a fist and slammed onto the piano keys in a fit of rage. Sharp, angry notes pierced the air messily and made her cringe. Never, no matter how angry she was, had she ever hit her piano out of anger. She realized that his arm was trembling but his face seemed empty.

What could she say? _I'm sorry? _It didn't matter that she was sorry. It wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't bring his mother back.

Her hand was shaking soon too as it reached for his. Naminé waited for him to pull away, to start yelling again, to tell her to leave already, but he sat still as stone except for his quivering arm. Slowly, hesitantly, her palm lightly rested on the top of his hand. He was freezing, and he put a little more weight bit by bit until her hand closed. Hopefully, maybe, through that little gesture, he would know he wasn't alone. That she understood.

"I'm sorry." She whispered so quietly she could hardly hear herself.

They stayed like that for the longest time. The clock ticking and her heartbeat in her ears was the only sound in the room. But before he got up and silently left, she thought he felt his hand warm.

* * *

"Hi."

Riku glanced up from the keyboard to stare at the blonde girl at the door who'd come yet again. Two days had passed.

"Why are you here?" He questioned.

Naminé pulled up a folding chair beside the piano. "Do you mind if I listen?"

"I hate playing for other people." The silver-haired boy said.

"I'll be quiet, then." She put her hands in her lap. "When you're playing, the world around you kind of disappears. Believe me when I say you won't even know I'm here."

He eyed her warily for a moment and then shrugged. "Suit yourself."

As he stretched out his fingers, she asked, "Did you write another song?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Kind of. It's not really done yet." Riku shot her a look at said, "I work best when I'm alone. And I still have to practice for the assembly."

"Maybe I could help you." She said politely, not wanting to tread on dangerous ground by accident. Sticking to innocent connections like music should be alright. "Start whenever you're ready."

He took a deep breath and exhaled it out. Then he started.

His long fingers danced across the keys and Naminé nearly fell off the chair. This time, sweet notes glided off the strings as a heavenly tune echoed in the room. It made her felt like she could float away through the ceiling. It wasn't quite blissful, but if anything, it put her heart at ease. All the negative emotions seemed to just wash away and replaced with a sense of peacefulness. She couldn't help but just close her eyes. Close her eyes and just… listen. Listen to the magic he made right at his fingertips. Although she wasn't terrible at the piano, she admitted silently that she would never be as wonderful as Riku. Now she just seemed first-grade compared to him. She made a mental note to herself to practice even more so maybe she would catch up to his skills.

_Who am I kidding, _she breathlessly thought. _My fingers will snap before I can meet his level._

Suddenly the music stopped and so did her daydreams.

"…And that's all I've got so far." Riku said, slowly lifting his hands away. "You were listening, right? Do you have any ideas on how to continue it?"

"Play the last bit again." Naminé requested.

With a small sigh, he did so, and her mind retreated into a little piece of heaven once again. The song ended at a high, light note, but Naminé could see where he had faltered.

"I see." She crossed over to him, looking over his shoulder. "You don't want it to be repetitive, right? So maybe you could play some low notes here, like this." He moved over a bit to let her reach over and play a few lower notes, creating a new sensation to the sweet melody. "And maybe improvise a little?"

"How would this sound?" Riku added a few more higher notes to the ones she had already played.

"Yeah!" Naminé nodded happily. "That sounds great."

Something tugged at the corner of his lips, and Naminé was glad to see it. "I'll work on it more later."

"The assembly's in three days, you know. You might wanna practice the song." She tried not to press too hard on the subject considering that she knew the background behind it now.

"Yeah, I know." His eyes darted back to the chair, and the blonde quickly took her seat again. As that melancholy tune rang through the room again, she figured this could be something she could get used to.

* * *

After those three days, Naminé adjusted the buttons of her white dress shirt in the school bathroom. It was made of some luxury designer fabric from New York. Her mom had sent it just for her piano recitals and performances, but she had a feeling it would be okay to wear it for an occasion such as today.

Xion smoothed out her black pleated skirt that ended just above the knees. "Riku's performing today, isn't he? I bet he'll be great."

"He will be." Kairi assured her, brushing some dirt off her own skirt.

"This thing is even tighter than our usual uniform." Selphie grumbled distastefully, tugging at the skin-tight sleeves of her dress shirt. Unlike the other girls', hers went down past her elbows. "Dad just _had _to go out and buy another one, didn't he? Couldn't we just wear our uniform shirts?"

"Anything would be more comfortable than these." Naminé ran her hands over the crinkles in the fabric and quickly combed her hair. "It's just for today, though."

Kairi frowned. "Too bad Olette couldn't be here. Stupid cold got a hold of her."

"Maybe I could record it for her." Selphie suggested.

"No, the teachers would catch you for sure." Xion pointed out, and she huffed again. At that moment, the bell went.

"Come on, let's go watch." Naminé started to leave, putting her comb back in her book bag.

Ten minutes after the bell and assembly introductions, Naminé sat between Kairi and Selphie in their folding chairs, listening to Riku play. She thoroughly enjoyed the mesmerized look on everyone's faces as he played majestically. But Selphie, Xion, Kairi, and Naminé just smiled lightly through it all.

Kairi leaned over to whisper in her ear. "He told you, didn't he?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"You understand now, right?"

"Yes."

Kairi's somber smile grew a little wider. "It's like I told you. He can get a little prickly from time to time… but once he opens up, he's not hard to understand."

"I know. I admire how strong he is." Naminé said with nothing but all the sincerity in the world. Never could she imagine being in a place like his, suffering from such a huge loss.

"Because, well, he's Riku." Kairi closed her eyes. "He can be really stupid sometimes, though. Always acting like he can do things on his own, and incredibly stubborn and competitive. After what's happened to him, he's just afraid, I guess. Afraid to rely on anyone. That's why we've all gotta stick together. Support him. You know?"

Naminé nodded. "I know what you mean. I feel like I'm a lot closer to him somehow."

Kairi giggled. "Oh, it'll take more than that before he completely opens up, believe me. But you've just reached a milestone in understanding him."

The blonde couldn't help but sigh. "And here I thought I'd made some major progress."

"You have!" Kairi almost cried. "But just…" Her face softened. "Just don't give up on him, okay? That's happened to him too many times."

This time Naminé closed her eyes.

"Yeah. I promise."

The song ended.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! This took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. I just figured I would give some backstory for such a sad month like November. I know the theme for this month was darker than the past chapters but the lighthearted mood will return soon. Riku is and always will be one of my favorite KH characters :) Starting from now on, I'm going to put a KH OST title at the beginning of my chapters to fit the mood. It's just so beautiful and fitting for so many occasions so why the heck not?  
**

**Just a quick shout-out to all my new favorites and followers! And even my invisible readers, too. It really gives me inspiration to know that people want to read what I write. R&R for more months ahead! ^_^**


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